Amissus
by cleotheo
Summary: Hermione Granger is happily celebrating her engagement, until she wakes up the morning after the engagement party with no memories of the last seven years. Not only must Hermione now adjust to how her life has changed in the past seven years, she also has to deal with the fact the person responsible for her losing her memory is someone she trusted.
1. Prologue

Twenty seven year old Hermione Granger looked around the large ballroom at her friends and family as she grabbed a glass of champagne off a passing waiter. She was currently attending her engagement party. Although the opulent surroundings and lavish party hadn't been her idea, the whole night had been organised by her future mother-in-law. Knowing how much the older witch meant to her fiancé, Hermione had agreed to the party without too much fuss.

In all honesty Hermione was actually enjoying the party. She was wearing a floor length dark purple dress and had actually enjoyed getting dressed up earlier in the day. All her friends were in attendance and it was nice to see her parents actually looking relaxed in wizarding surroundings. Then there was the fact she was hopelessly in love with her gorgeous fiancé, who was heading in her direction.

"Are you having fun?" Hermione's fiancé, Draco Malfoy, asked as he arrived at her side.

"I am now." Hermione smiled and gave Draco a quick kiss before leaning against his side. Draco wrapped his arm securely around Hermione's waist as the couple wandered into the crowds in search of their friends.

Hermione and Draco had been together for nearly five years, after meeting again when Draco had entered Hermione's bookshop looking for help finding a rare set of Potions books. After the war Draco had set up his own Potions Company while Hermione had repeated her final year of school. When Hermione left school she could have had any job she wanted in the Ministry or in several other wizarding businesses, instead she decided to set up her own business dealing in something she was passionate about, books.

Within a year Hermione had a thriving bookshop in Diagon Alley and was gaining a reputation as someone who could track down rare and precious books. It was this reputation that sent Draco to her when he needed a certain set of books for his company. That was just over three years after the war had ended, which had been the last time they had seen each other. Hermione had been surprised to see Draco in her shop, but he was nothing but polite to her so she treated him the same as her other customers.

The books Draco wanted turned out to be very hard to find, it took Hermione almost three months before she located them in Kolkata, India. During that time Draco would pop by the shop every week, often more than once in the week, for a progress report. Often when he visited he purchased a handful of books and Hermione had been amazed when he even bought a couple of muggle novels. With every visit the frostiness between them thawed as they started talking more and more, even though initially it was only about books. After about six weeks Hermione realised she looked forward to Draco's visit each week, debating literature with the former Slytherin was quickly becoming her favourite part of the week.

By the time Hermione located the books and acquired them for Draco, twelve weeks after he had first inquired about them, they had become quite friendly. When Draco had then asked Hermione out on a date she had no hesitation in accepting his offer. The first date had been a success and quickly led to a second, followed by a third and fourth in rapid succession. Within a month of Draco first asking Hermione out, they were officially a couple.

Because of their tricky past and sometimes troublesome friends and family Hermione and Draco took their relationship slow. They had been together for almost three years before Hermione had moved into Draco's penthouse and it was nearly two years after that when Draco proposed. However six months before Draco's proposal the couple had bought a house together on the outskirts of London.

On a whole their friends and family hadn't caused too much trouble. Initially there had been some resistance to their relationship but Hermione and Draco had stood firm, insisting they were together and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Hermione and Draco were now under the impression everyone had accepted their relationship, little realising there were four people currently in the room who still hoped to see their relationship fail before a wedding took place.

**…..**

Ron Weasley sat at the bar, firewhisky in hand, as he watched Hermione cling onto the blond Slytherin at her side. Watching Hermione get cosier with Malfoy over the last five years had almost destroyed Ron but seeing her engaged to the git made him realise what he had thrown away six years ago.

After the war Ron and Hermione had finally gotten together properly and despite the lingering air of grief hanging over The Burrow that summer they had on a whole had an enjoyable time together. When Hermione returned to school Ron feared they would drift apart, however with Ron making frequent visits to Hogsmeade the couple managed to remain together. It wasn't until Hermione had finished school and the couple were seeing each other on a more regular basis that the problems started.

When Hermione had been at school and he was only seeing her every three to four weeks Ron was quite happy to live the life of a single guy in between visits. However with Hermione now finished school and settling down in London he found himself being a proper boyfriend for the first time in his life, that was when Ron realised how serious their relationship actually was and started to panic. The more Ron thought about how serious his relationship with Hermione seemed to be the more he pulled away from. After a year of running away from commitment Ron admitted to Hermione he wasn't ready to settle down and he thought they should go their separate ways.

For a while after their break up Ron had played the field, sleeping with any willing witch he could find. Despite this he still thought that when he was ready to settle down Hermione would be waiting for him. That illusion was only shattered a year after their breakup when Hermione announced she was dating Malfoy. Ron immediately scoffed at the relationship, claiming it wouldn't last. Unfortunately five years later he was attending Hermione's engagement party, wondering if it was too late to try and win her back.

**…..**

Knocking back a glass of champagne Pansy Parkinson glared at Granger, draping herself all over Draco. Pansy has thought it was a joke when Draco first announced he was dating Granger, then when she realised he was serious she thought it would just be a fling. She never imagined that five years later she would be attending his engagement party.

If she was honest Pansy was annoyed that for years she had been there for Draco, always willing to do anything for him, yet he never once considered making their relationship more permanent. All through school Pansy had stood by him, she was always ready to fall into his bed when he wanted her and she never mentioned the other girls he constantly slept with.

Even after the war, when they had left school, Pansy still continued to be there for Draco. Despite his numerous flings he continued to sleep with her on the side, until Granger reappeared in his life. A month after first visiting Granger's bookshop Draco had ended things with Pansy and hadn't so much as looked at her as anything other than a friend since.

Pansy was convinced that if Granger wasn't around Draco would have finally realised how much she meant to him and committed himself to her. Despite the fact Draco was now engaged Pansy wasn't giving up hope, until he actually married Granger she wasn't going to stop trying to get the man she loved. Whether Granger liked it or not Draco was hers and she wasn't stopping until she had him back.

**…..**

Muttering in disgust Lucius Malfoy turned his back on the sight of his son kissing his fiancée. Lucius was appalled that Draco was sullying the family line by marrying a mudblood but no amount of arguing could persuade his son that he was doing something wrong. For five years Lucius had been fighting against Draco's involvement with Hermione, but their engagement was really too much to bear.

Lucius was beginning to think he was fighting a losing battle, even Narcissa wouldn't back him up. Narcissa had been equally disturbed to hear Draco was dating a muggleborn but after speaking with their son her opinion had changed. Narcissa argued that Draco was happy, and if Hermione was the one making him happy then she wasn't going to stand in his way due to a bit of blood. With Narcissa firmly on Draco's side Lucius had found it even more difficult to fight against the union.

Lucius had actually threatened Draco with numerous things, including disinheriting him, but his son was unmoved. In other circumstances Lucius would have been impressed with Draco for standing up to him, but not when it involved ruining the family line. Despite Draco's refusal to see sense Lucius wasn't planning on giving up just yet, until it actually happened he was going to do everything in his power to try and stop a mudblood becoming a Malfoy.

**…..**

Molly Weasley looked over to where Narcissa Malfoy was standing talking to Hermione and her parents. As she watched Narcissa she only had one thought in her head; that should be me. For years Molly was convinced that she would one day become Hermione's mother-in-law and it rankled her slightly that Narcissa Malfoy was instead stepping into her role.

What bothered her more than Narcissa taking her role in Hermione's life however was watching Draco Malfoy fill the role that should have been Ron's. Even when Ron and Hermione had split up Molly was convinced it was only temporary and they would eventually end up back together, in her eyes they belonged together.

When Hermione had first started dating Draco, Molly had never thought it would last, she was convinced that Hermione was just on the rebound. Even now at their engagement party she was still unconvinced that the couple would actually make it down the aisle. While most people seemed convinced Draco had changed Molly wasn't as sure, while he was perfectly nice and polite to her and her family she still felt there was something dark within him.

Molly had thought that eventually Hermione would see that Draco was bad news and go back to Ron, but she was now having her doubts. It seemed that for such a smart girl when it came to her fiancé, Hermione was incredibly dumb, she just couldn't see she wasn't meant to be with him. Molly knew that Hermione was meant to be with Ron, all she needed was for someone to show her she was with the wrong man. Hopefully someone would do that before she made the biggest mistake of her life and married Draco.

**…..**

Draco lay on the bed watching Hermione as she sat at her dressing table removing her make-up and jewellery. When she finished she unpinned her hair, letting her brunette curls cascade down her back. She then kicked off her heels and stood up to remove her dress.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Hermione asked with a grin. When she had turned round to remove her dress she had found Draco watching her.

"I'll enjoy myself more when you take your dress off." Draco grinned back at his fiancée.

Hermione laughed before she slowly proceeded to unzip her dress and wriggle out of the tight material. Throwing it over a nearby chair she turned back to Draco, standing in just her matching black lingerie.

"Do you want me to remove anything else?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Everything." Draco replied, adjusting his position so he was lying in the middle of the bed.

Hermione smiled at Draco again before she reached behind her and unhooked her bra. Teasingly she slowly slipped the straps down her arms before discarding her bra onto the same chair as her dress. Draco licked his lips at the sight of Hermione's perky breasts and he watched with darkening eyes as she began to slide her knickers down her toned legs. Hermione stepped out of the flimsy piece of lace that was her underwear and advanced towards the bed.

"Now it's your turn." Hermione purred, climbing on the bed and crawling up Draco's body.

Hovering over Draco on all fours Hermione leant down and kissed her fiancé. Draco reached up and tangled one of his hands in her hair as his tongue sought entrance to Hermione's mouth. Hermione let Draco deepen the kiss briefly before she pulled away and began trailing kisses down his body. Hermione teasingly made her way slowly down Draco's torso, until she reached the waistband of his boxers.

Turning her eyes back towards Draco's face she watched his reaction as her hand gently rubbed at the bulge in his boxers. Draco eyes fell shut as he moaned softly at the feeling of Hermione's hand on him. Deciding she had teased him enough Hermione pulled Draco's boxers down his legs, her eyes darkening as her fiancé was fully exposed to her.

Draco had re-opened his eyes and was now watching Hermione as she looked at him. Sensing Draco watching her Hermione looked up and grinned wickedly before she leant forward and licked Draco's hard member. Draco moaned and let his head fall back onto the pillow as Hermione's warm mouth suddenly surrounded him. As she continued to work between his legs Hermione kept her eyes on Draco, getting more turned on by his obvious enjoyment.

After a few minutes Draco reached down and pulled Hermione up. "I'm going to cum if you keep that up."

"That's the general idea." Hermione retorted with a laugh.

Draco rolled his eyes at Hermione as he pulled her up towards him and briefly connected their lips. "You can do that later if you want, but right now I need you."

Hermione leant back over and kissed Draco again before she sat up and positioned herself over him. Slowly she sank down onto him, causing them both to moan in satisfaction as he was buried deep inside her. Draco leant up and engaged Hermione in a long, sensual kiss as they revelled in the feeling of being joined so intimately. Once the kiss was over Hermione began to slowly rock her hips against Draco's in a slow, steady rhythm. Draco let Hermione set the pace for a short time, while his hands explored her body, but then he grabbed her hips and helped move her as he began thrusting up against her.

Hermione threw her head back and moaned loudly as the pace of their lovemaking picked up. When Draco sat up and roughly kissed her, Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco's neck and plunged her hands into his hair, pulling him even closer. Mid kiss Draco suddenly flipped them over and Hermione found herself lying under Draco. Hermione wasn't the least bit surprised that Draco had exercised his dominance over her, during sex there was only so long he would let her dictate things before he took charge.

With Draco now firmly in control he smirked down at Hermione before pulling out of her and thrusting back in hard and fast, causing her to scream his name. Draco smirked at Hermione's response and bent his head to kiss and nip at her neck as he kept up the fast pace, he was determined to make his fiancée scream his name a bit more.

Draco's name fell from Hermione's lips numerous times as her fiancé brought her to the brink of climax. Realising Hermione was close Draco trailed his hand in-between them, finding her clitoris, as his lips found her ear and he began talking dirty to her. The combination of Draco's talented fingers and his wicked tongue pushed Hermione over the edge, arching her back she dug her nails into Draco's shoulder as she climaxed. Hermione's orgasm brought about Draco's own release, calling Hermione's name he collapsed onto his fiancée.

"That was amazing." Hermione sighed happily as Draco rolled off her and collapsed next to her. Rolling over she propped herself up on her elbow and began drawing patterns on Draco's chest. "I hope you're not too tired, I wasn't planning on going to sleep just yet."

Draco chuckled and gave Hermione a wide grin. "Give me a few minutes and I'll tire you out properly."

Hermione grinned back at her fiancé as she dipped her head and gave him a soft kiss, her hand already beginning its exploration of his toned body.


	2. Confusion

Hermione smiled sleepily as her eyes fluttered open, feeling quite happy and content. The minute her eyes did open however her smile and the feeling of happiness disappeared and panic set in. Hermione didn't recognise the room she had awoken in, or least not the part she could see from her position. Turning her head a bit she realised she didn't recognise anything, she wasn't in her own bedroom that was for certain. Nor was she in her boyfriend's room.

As she was becoming more aware of her surroundings Hermione realised two things, two very disturbing things. The first thing was the fact she was naked, she never slept naked, even after her and Ron had been intimate she always put something on before falling asleep. The second thing was the fact she wasn't alone in the bed, Hermione could clearly feel a presence behind her and a masculine arm was draped over her waist. A quick glance down at the arm revealed it to belong to someone other than Ron, Ron's arm had loads of freckles and a covering of fine red hair while the arm currently lying over her was very pale and looked to have a covering of barely visible pale blond hairs.

Hermione wracked her brains trying to think what had happened the previous night. How on earth had she ended up in bed with a stranger when she was dating Ron? The last thing Hermione could remember was Ron, Harry and Ginny coming round to her new flat, she had just moved in earlier that day and they had had a house warming drink. She could remember her friends leaving, including Ron as he had an early start at work the following day, then she could remember going to bed. Hermione had no memory of anything after that so she was thoroughly confused as to how she had gone from being all alone in bed in her own flat to waking up naked beside a stranger.

Twisting her head further round she spotted a chair at the bottom of the bed, draped over it was a purple dress and a lacy black bra. Clearly whatever had happened had happened after some sort of party, although why she couldn't remember it was a mystery. Considering she didn't know who she was with or how she had ended up here, Hermione decided that best course of action was to sneak away quietly. Maybe once she was at home she could piece together what had happened and how much time was missing from her memory.

Trying her best not to disturb the sleeping man next to her, Hermione slowly sat up. Pushing the covers back she went to get out of bed but paused, she really wanted to see who she had ended up in bed with. If she had cheated on Ron and slept with someone else she wanted to know what he was like. Turning her head Hermione's mouth dropped open and her heart stopped as she recognised the man lying next to her.

"No, this isn't possible." Hermione whispered, tears starting to pool in her eyes.

It was bad enough to have cheated on Ron, but who she had cheated with was unforgivable. Despite not having seen him since the end of the war there was no mistaking the platinum blond hair of Draco Malfoy. Hermione couldn't actually see Malfoy's face as he had his head buried in the pillow but his hair was a dead giveaway, as was his pale skin. Hermione tried not to think that if she was naked he was also likely naked, she could already see his entire back and that was far too much of him for her liking.

Hermione was so busy reeling over her discovery that she failed to notice the blond had woken up until he stretched and turned over. Hermione gasped as suddenly she was face to face with Malfoy. She idly realised that he looked much older and healthier than last time she saw him, just over a year ago, but that thought vanished when he smiled at her. Hermione's eyes widened at the sight of Malfoy actually smiling, in the past she'd seen him smirk and sneer but never smile.

When Hermione continued to stare at him as though he were a stranger Draco's smile dropped, a look of concern clouding his face. "Are you okay, Hermione?"

Hermione continued to stare as Malfoy used her first name, in all the years she had known him he had never used it, instead preferring to call her Granger, Mudblood or any of his other horrible nicknames.

"Hermione?" Draco sat up in bed and reached out a hand to stroke Hermione's face.

At the contact Hermione slapped his hand away. "Get off me." She cried, hopping out of bed.

It was only when she was out of bed she remembered she was naked. Squealing in embarrassment she reached out and grabbed the sheet off the bed, wrapping it around her body. When she looked back towards the bed she squealed again, realising the mistake she had just made. By pulling the sheet from the bed she had exposed Malfoy, who was sitting in bed very naked and totally unbothered by the fact he was exposed to her eyes.

Trying to look anywhere but at Malfoy, Hermione started scanning the room. Opposite the bottom of the bed was a dresser and on it Hermione spotted the familiar sight of her wand. Quickly hurrying to the dresser she picked up her wand and turned back to face Malfoy, aiming her wand in his direction.

"What have you done to me?" She asked, making sure to keep her eyes latched onto his face. She didn't want to see the rest of his body again, even if it was pretty impressive.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked in confusion. "I haven't done anything."

"Don't lie." Hermione's voice quivered as she fought back the tears. "There's no way I would have willingly got into your bed. What did you do, drug me? Use the Imperious Curse?"

Hermione's conviction that Malfoy had done something to her began to waver when he continued to look at her. She could clearly see the hurt in his grey eyes and his whole demeanour was of a man who was deeply upset.

"I haven't done anything to you, I swear." Draco pleaded as he climbed out of bed.

Hermione was just about to warn him not to approach any further when he turned to the side of the bed and opened a drawer. Pulling out a pair of boxers Draco pulled them on before he turned back to his fiancée, he didn't know what was happening but he did know that for some reason she was scared of him.

"Hermione, put down the wand so we can talk." Draco said, edging closer to the witch.

"No, stay back." Hermione waved her wand in the blond's direction, causing him to back up. "I don't know what game you're playing Malfoy but I'm not going to be a part of it. I'm going to get dressed and go home."

"You are home." Draco said softly. "This is your home."

"This is not my home, I've just moved into a flat overlooking Diagon Alley."

At Hermione's words Draco froze, realising what was happening. Hermione moved into her flat shortly after she finished school, seven years ago. That was two years before she re-met him and halfway through her disaster of a relationship with Weasley. Draco felt sick as he thought about the consequences of Hermione having lost her memory, not only would she not remember him and their relationship she would think she was still with Weasley.

Hermione took advantage of Draco's bewilderment to gather the clothes on the chair. Picking up the bra and dress she spotted a pair of lacy black knickers on the floor, along with a pair of high heels. Grabbing them as well she spotted an open doorway that led into a bathroom. Moving quickly before Malfoy tried to stop her Hermione bolted for the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Once in the bathroom Hermione dropped the clothes onto the floor as she tried to process what was happening. Malfoy had said this was her home, but that made no sense. Not only had she never seen the place before but she had just moved into her flat. There was also no way she could ever afford anywhere as fancy as this place, even if her bookshop proved to be a success it still wouldn't earn her enough money for a place like this.

Brushing off what Malfoy had said Hermione stepped up to the sink, stopping in shock when she saw her reflection. She noticed earlier that Malfoy looked older than he should be and she definitely did. Her twentieth birthday was just around the corner but the woman staring back at her looked to be in her mid to late twenties. Looking at her reflection she realised she must have lost years' worth of memories, she now had no idea what her life was like.

Suddenly Malfoy's assertion that this was her home didn't seem so crazy, what was crazy was the fact he either also lived here or he stayed often enough to keep underwear in the bedroom. Even if she had lost years' worth of memories Hermione knew there was no way she was involved with Malfoy, besides she was with Ron and everyone knew they belonged together.

Trying to figure out what was happening Hermione started examining the bathroom. Beside the sink there was two toothbrushes and both male and female toiletries in the basket beside the bath. Opening the bathroom cabinet Hermione found several different Potions, including a contraceptive one, men's shaving stuff and some aftershave that was far too expensive for Ron to afford. Looking around the bathroom Hermione came to the conclusion it was a bathroom shared by a couple. From the male items she knew the man wasn't Ron, everything was too expensive for his tastes, and she was pretty certain the woman was her. Several of the toiletries and cosmetics littered around were brands Hermione preferred, including a great shampoo brand she had discovered recently that gave her some control over her wild hair and left it feeling soft and silky.

Hermione was disliking the conclusions she was coming to, all the evidence pointed to her living with Malfoy. Despite what the evidence was saying Hermione was having none of it, she might not have all her memories but she had enough to know she wanted nothing to do with Malfoy. All she wanted now was to get away from him and this house.

Turning back to the sink Hermione had a quick wash and brushed her teeth. As she was getting washed Hermione spotted a diamond engagement ring on her left hand. Hermione stared at the ring for nearly ten minutes, surely she wasn't crazy enough to not only live with Malfoy but to agree to marry him. Not ready to deal with the ring and what it meant she slipped it off her finger and left it beside the sink, Malfoy would find it when he used the bathroom later.

Hermione then turned to the pile of clothes she had grabbed from the bedroom. Chances were if this was her house then she would have other clothes but that would mean re-entering the bedroom and facing Malfoy. Not wanting to face the blond still wearing nothing but a sheet Hermione quickly dressed in the party clothes. Once she was dressed she couldn't help but glance in the mirror, impressed that she had such a flattering figure.

Picking up her wand Hermione took a deep breath before she re-entered the bedroom. The first thing Hermione noticed was that Malfoy had gotten dressed, he was sitting on the end of the bed wearing a green t-shirt and jeans. Hermione was shocked by his muggle attire but she was in no mood to really question his actions, all she wanted to do was get as far away from him as possible. She needed to see someone she loved and trusted, she needed Harry and Ron.

"Hermione, we need to talk." Draco looked up when Hermione entered the room, although he didn't make any move to approach her.

"No, we don't." Hermione shook her head. "I'm not stupid, I know I've got some sort of amnesia that has taken a part of my memories. But I do know I don't like what I've seen so far and I have no intention of staying here with you."

Draco watched Hermione with a heavy heart, not only were her words painful to hear but he had noticed she was no longer wearing her engagement ring. Feeling tears starting to pool in his eyes Draco dropped his head into his hands.

Hermione felt a stab of something she couldn't explain as Malfoy dropped his head into his hands. Fighting the urge to comfort him she headed for the doorway, checking Malfoy wasn't following her she left the bedroom and walked towards the stairs. Hurrying down the stairs Hermione didn't bother to look around as she searched for the nearest fireplace.

Finding one in the front room Hermione grabbed some floo powder and stepped into the flames. Calling Ron's address, she hoped he was still living in the same place, Hermione disappeared in a swirl of emerald flames. As she departed the house Hermione had no idea that Draco had followed her and was sitting on the stairs, his heart breaking as he watched the woman he loved run from him.

* * *

**A/N - Thanks for all the follows/faves/reviews. I've actually already finished writing this story so updates will be every couple of days. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.**


	3. Heartbreak

Draco remained on the stairs, staring at where Hermione had departed, for nearly half an hour before he hauled himself up and slowly trudged back to the bedroom. Walking into the bedroom and seeing the un-made bed Draco's mind flashed back to earlier that morning when Hermione had jumped from it and looked at him as though he was Voldemort himself.

Draco was used to waking up and finding Hermione watching him, what he wasn't used to was waking up and finding Hermione looking at him as though she was shocked by his presence. When Hermione had first started questioning him on what he had done to her Draco was genuinely confused, it was only when she mentioned going home that Draco had an inkling as to what was going on. When she had then mentioned recently moving into her flat Draco knew his suspicions were right and he had felt his whole world shatter.

While Draco had been contemplating what was happening he was vaguely aware that Hermione had locked herself in the bathroom. While Hermione was in the bathroom Draco had decided to get dressed, he had hoped that might help with making her feel more comfortable around him. He also realised that if Hermione had lost so many memories that the only ones she would have of him would be bad ones, so he didn't want to do anything that would cause her to dislike him any further.

That was why when she emerged from the bathroom and announced she was leaving he sat back and let her go. His instincts screamed at him to fight for her and insist she stay but Draco knew if he wanted Hermione not to hate him he would have to show her he had changed. Hopefully they would be able to restore Hermione's memories once they figured out what was happening but if they didn't Draco only stood a chance of getting her back if she was willingly to give him a chance and that wouldn't happen if he fought with her.

When Draco's memories flashed onto Hermione leaving him, he shook his head to clear it of those devastating images and made his way into the bathroom. Finding Hermione's ring sitting by the sink broke Draco's heart, picking it up he vowed that one day it would be back where it belonged, on Hermione's finger. Draco had never really thought he would get married and settle down so he wasn't planning on letting the only woman he had ever loved slip away from him. He would fight for Hermione and their relationship, he just had to be careful how he did it as he didn't want to drive Hermione further away.

Putting Hermione's ring back down Draco got washed and tided himself up a bit. He then took Hermione's ring and placed it on a chain he then slipped round his neck, he wasn't planning on parting with the ring until it was back on Hermione's finger. Pulling on some shoes Draco made his way downstairs, where he would begin his fight to get his fiancé back.

Draco hadn't actually heard where Hermione had went but he had three solid possibilities, Harry, Weasley or The Burrow. The last place he wanted to go was to Weasley's pokey little flat and he never really felt welcome at The Burrow so Draco decided to start with Harry, that way Hermione's best friend could help him with his search.

**…..**

Harry Potter and his wife, Ginny, were enjoying a late breakfast when the floo network sounded, followed moments later by the sound of Harry's name being called. Harry and Ginny immediately recognised Draco's voice and wondered what the blond was doing at their house the day after his engagement party. While Harry and Ginny both got on really well with Draco and fully supported his relationship with Hermione it was unusual for the blond to pay them a visit unannounced.

"Malfoy, what are you doing here?" Harry asked as he and Ginny entered the front room to find a slightly dishevelled Draco standing in the front room. Despite their friendliness Harry and Draco hadn't gotten out of the habit of referring to each other by their surnames, despite Hermione and Ginny both trying to get them to do otherwise.

"Something's happened to Hermione." Draco said, anxiously running a hand through his hair.

"Is she alright? What happened? Is she hurt?" Harry immediately started to worry about the state of his best friend.

"Physically she'd fine." Draco sighed. "She just doesn't remember the last seven years of her life."

Harry looked at Draco in confusion as Ginny made her way over to the blond and urged him to sit down. She then turned to her husband and told him to also sit down, which he did in a nearby chair.

"What do you mean she doesn't remember the last seven years?" Ginny asked Draco gently. "What happened?"

"I don't know what happened." Draco huffed, he'd been trying to think of an explanation for Hermione's memory loss but he couldn't. "When I woke up she was looking at me strangely and when I went to touch her she freaked out and wouldn't let me near her. She then started asking me what I'd done to her as she would never end up in bed with me of her own free will."

"That definitely sounds like her memories are gone." Harry mused. "But how do you know she's lost seven years?"

"When she said she was going home, I pointed out she was already home. She refused to believe me, claiming she had just moved into her flat overlooking Diagon Alley."

"That was seven years ago." Ginny confirmed. "But how has she lost seven years' worth of memories?"

"I have no idea." Draco said sadly. "She was perfectly normal when we went to sleep last night."

"Where is she now?" Harry asked. As curious as he was as to how Hermione had lost her memories he wanted to check she was okay. "I assume she didn't stay at your place."

"No, she left." Draco replied. "I'm not sure where she went but I'm guessing it was to Weasley."

"If you think she's with Ron, why are you here?" Ginny asked.

"You know your brother doesn't like me, he probably would have just chucked me out." Draco said, his voice laced with bitterness.

As much as Harry and Ginny wanted to argue they knew Draco was right, Ron definitely wouldn't have welcomed the blond into his flat. In fact Harry was now worrying that Ron might use Hermione's situation to try and persuade her to return to him. While Harry may have initially wanted his best friends to be together it had soon become obvious that their relationship just didn't work, whereas Hermione's relationship with Draco worked great and she was much happier now than when she was with Ron.

"Did you try anywhere else?" Harry asked, wondering if Hermione had gone somewhere other than Ron's. "The Burrow or her parents?"

"I thought one of you could check The Burrow." Draco said, not wanting to admit he felt unwelcome in Ginny's family home. While Ginny and most of her brothers had been fine with him Draco knew her parents, especially Molly, didn't like him. "As for her parents, I did think of going to them but then I remembered that seven years ago Hermione didn't know where they were."

"I never thought of that." Harry muttered.

After the war Hermione, Harry and Ron had visited Australia in an attempt to bring Hermione's parent's home. However when they got there they found no sign of her parents anywhere, they certainly weren't where Hermione expected them to be. With Hermione due to start school the trio had returned home still not knowing what had happened to the Granger's. In the two years after she finished school Hermione tried several more times to locate her parents, before finally admitting she had lost them for good.

About nine months into his relationship with Hermione, Draco had come to Harry asking about her parents. He said that Hermione had told him what had happened but refused to talk about the details. Harry had filled Draco in on everything he knew, including the fruitless searches Hermione had endured. Unbeknown to anyone Draco had then hired a private detective to find Hermione's parents. Six months later Draco took Hermione on a trip to Australia where he took her to her parents, their memories fully returned.

Draco finding Hermione's parents for her was what made Harry realise that the blond really loved his friend, before that he had been wary about Draco's intentions towards Hermione. Ever since then he had fully supported the relationship and he and Draco had even become quite good friends.

"Poor Hermione, she's got so much to take in." Ginny said, drawing Harry's thoughts back to the present.

"That's why we need to find her and take her to St Mungo's." Draco said. "We need to see a Healer and find out what's wrong with her."

"Do you think we should call her parents?" Ginny asked. "Or what about Mum and Dad, should we tell them?"

"Not yet." Harry said. "Malfoy's right, we need to get Hermione to the hospital. Maybe they can fix her and we don't need to worry everyone else."

"Considering it's a Sunday, will we be able to get her an appointment with a Healer?" Ginny asked.

"Leave that to me." Draco said. With his money and his family's influence he knew he would have no problem sorting out a Healer to look at Hermione. "Why don't you go and get Hermione while I go to the hospital, I can arrange for someone to be ready for her when you arrive."

"That's a good idea, I'll go and get ready." Harry said, standing up and hurrying out of the room.

"I'm going to come with you." Ginny told Draco as she stood up. "Don't move, I'll be back in a minute."

"I'm fine, I don't need you to come with me." Draco protested. He didn't have anything against Ginny accompanying him he would just rather he didn't have someone around who could potentially realise how much this was hurting him.

"You're not fine." Ginny smiled at him sympathetically and Draco realised that she already realised how much he was hurting. "Hermione may have lost her memories but you've temporarily lost her, you need out support as much as she does."

"Thanks." Draco smiled weakly at the redhead. "Do you really think I've only lost her temporarily?"

"Yes." Ginny nodded determinedly. "Hermione loves you and memories or not, that won't disappear. I'm not saying it'll be easy but you and Hermione are meant to be together and it'll take more than this to pull you apart."

"I hope so." Draco sighed.

"I know so." Ginny stated before she disappeared to get ready.

Five minutes later Harry and Ginny returned to the front room. While Draco and Ginny apparated to St Mungo's, Harry stepped into the fire and flooed to Ron's flat.

Stepping out of the flames at Ron's flat Harry immediately saw that Draco's assumptions had been right, Hermione had run straight to her ex. Hermione was currently curled up on Ron's sofa, wearing one of his baggy jumpers over the dress she had worn the previous night. Her face was red with crying and tears were still leaking out of her eyes as she looked up at Harry's arrival.

"Harry." Hermione quickly stood up and threw herself at her best friend.

Harry wrapped his arms tightly around Hermione as she buried her face in his neck and began sobbing. Carefully Harry manoeuvred his way over to Ron's sofa and sat down, Hermione still clinging onto him. Looking up he spotted Ron hovering awkwardly in the doorway.

"How did you know I was here?" Hermione whispered, drawing Harry's attention back to the witch beside him.

"Malfoy came and saw me, he told me what happened." Harry noticed Hermione stiffen at the mention of her fiancé and he shook his head sadly. "He's worried about you 'Mione."

"I don't care." Hermione said, pulling herself out of Harry's embrace. "I want nothing to do with him."

"Don't be so hasty, Hermione." Harry warned. "I know right now everything's confusing but you don't want to push away the people that love you."

"Malfoy doesn't love me." Hermione scoffed. "He doesn't know how to love, he's cold and uncaring."

"You don't believe that, Hermione." Harry argued. "Even with losing seven years of memories you know enough to know that Malfoy isn't a cold hearted monster. You know everything he went through during the war, how much he suffered just to protect his mother. You know he's capable of love, you're just not ready to admit he loves you."

"Fine, I know he's capable of love and I accept that somehow I've ended up getting involved with him and he possibly loves me." Hermione conceded. "But I don't love him, Harry."

"You do, you may not remember it at the minute but you do love him." Harry said softly. He didn't want to upset Hermione but he didn't want her dismissing Draco without giving him a chance.

"I don't." Hermione shook her head, tears once again starting to fall. "I don't love him and I have no intention of trying to. I don't want to see or speak to him again."

"That's impossible Hermione." Harry sighed. "Whether you like it or not he's a part of your life and I can promise you now that he won't be going anywhere. He loves you far too much to walk away and abandon you."

"I think that's enough now, Harry." Ron entered the room and sat down next to Hermione, pulling her into a hug. "Hermione's been through a lot and if she doesn't want to talk about Malfoy, then she doesn't have to."

"That's fine." Harry said. "I just want to make sure that she knows he's not going to go away. Eventually she'll have to deal with him."

"Why?" Ron asked. "She doesn't remember him or their relationship, all she remembers is the bad things he did in school. Why can't she just walk away and forget all about him?"

Harry glared at Ron, fighting down the urge to yell at his friend. Unintentionally Hermione had run to the one person who would support her in her quest to forget about Draco and not deal with her life. Harry knew if he reacted badly towards Ron, Hermione was likely to turn against him. Considering he needed to get her to the hospital to get her checked out Harry bit his tongue and didn't react to Ron's words.

"Hermione, we need to take you to St Mungo's." Harry turned away from Ron and focused on the girl in his arms. "We need to know why your memory is missing."

"Do you think they can fix me?" Hermione turned to Harry with a questioning look.

"Hopefully." Harry said. He really hoped they could restore Hermione's memory before she ruined her relationship with Draco, if her memories returned and she had driven him away she would never forgive herself. "But at least they should be able to tell us what we're dealing with."

"I don't want to go to the hospital looking like this." Hermione said, pointing at her dishevelled appearance. "But I don't want to go back there to get some clothes."

"I'll go and get you some clothes." Harry said, standing up. He wasn't keen on leaving Hermione with Ron, they would have to have a serious talk later on about Ron encouraging Hermione to leave Draco, but he vowed to be as quick as he could be. "Why don't you have a shower and something to eat and I'll be back as quickly as possible."

Harry gave Hermione a quick hug before he stepped into the flames and flooed to Hermione and Draco's house. Heading to the master bedroom he gathered an outfit for Hermione before quickly stopping off at St Mungo's to let Draco and Ginny know they were on the way.

Less than ten minutes after leaving he was returning to Ron's flat. Hearing Hermione in the shower Harry left her clothes outside the door and went in search of his friend. Harry knew Ron only wanted what was best for Hermione but Harry needed to know that Ron's lingering feelings for Hermione weren't going to cause him to try and create trouble. Hermione's life was complicated enough at the minute, the last thing she needed was for Ron to try and take advantage of the situation by attempting to win her back.


	4. Realisations

During her shower Hermione thought about her day so far, more specifically her recent conversation with Harry. When she had ran to Ron earlier she had been determined to forget all about Malfoy and how he was a part of her life, but Harry had made her think that maybe it wouldn't be that simple. When she had first arrived at his flat Ron had told her how much time had passed so Hermione knew she was missing seven years of her life. Whether she liked it or not she now had to face the reality that Malfoy could tell her more about those years than Ron.

Despite what she had said to Harry earlier Hermione was finding she was becoming increasingly curious as to how Malfoy fitted into her life. The last thing she could remember was being in a serious relationship with Ron, so how had she ended up engaged to Malfoy? Hermione had lots of questions regarding her relationship with Ron and how they ended but she had more concerning her relationship with Malfoy. When she had first arrived at his flat the first thing Ron had asked her was what Malfoy had done to her. Ron's tone immediately told Hermione that he didn't like Malfoy and his question had caused some of her own. Why did Ron automatically assume Malfoy had done something to her, did she appear at her friends place in tears often?

Hermione hadn't asked Ron any of these questions, instead she had told him the brief outline of what had happened and announced she didn't want to talk about Malfoy. Ron had gone along with her request and until Harry had arrived they had been sitting in comfortable silence while Hermione tried to calm herself down. Harry's presence and his determination to talk had made Hermione realise that by turning to Ron she was running away and delaying the time when she had to face reality.

Standing under the rapidly cooling water in the shower Hermione realised she was still delaying the inevitable. She'd spent longer in the shower than necessary, rather than get out and go to the hospital. Eventually Hermione stepped out of the shower and wrapped one of the towels around her body, trying not to compare Ron's tiny bathroom to the large one she had seen that morning in the house she shared with Malfoy.

Poking her head out of the door Hermione was about to shout for Ron to ask if Harry was back when she spotted a pile of clothes in front of the door. Scooping them up in her arms she headed back into the bathroom and quickly dressed. Hermione was pleased with Harry's choice of jeans and a jumper and once she had them on she felt more like herself, although she wasn't too impressed he had brought her an emerald green top.

When she was dressed Hermione left the bathroom and wandered into the kitchen. Harry and Ron were both standing in the small space and Hermione could tell immediately the two men had been having words, you could cut the atmosphere with a knife. Knowing the argument would have been about her Hermione chose not to comment, instead she sat down and ate the sandwich and drank the cup of tea Ron handed her.

When she was finished Harry suggested they head off to the hospital. When Hermione checked Ron was going with them Harry scowled but didn't comment as the redhead vowed to stay by Hermione's side. Harry was still scowling when the trio headed to the fireplace and flooed to St Mungo's.

When they arrived Harry went to speak to the receptionist, who directed them to the fifth floor. In the lift the atmosphere between her two friends was tense and Hermione was relieved when it stopped and she could leave the small box. The second Hermione did step out of the lift however she was engulfed by Ginny, who had obviously been waiting for her.

"Hermione, how are you?" Ginny asked, pulling back to look at her friend.

"I'm okay." Hermione smiled. "Although I'll be better when I know what's happening."

"We'll all be better when we know what's happening." Ginny said. "Come on, the Healer is waiting for you."

Ginny grabbed hold of Hermione's hand as she led the trio along a practically deserted corridor and into a waiting area. In the waiting area was a Healer, sitting talking to Draco, who had his head in his hands. When Hermione entered the room with Ginny, Draco looked up but when Hermione turned her head away from him he dropped his head back into his hands.

"Miss Granger, I'm Healer Addams." The Healer stood up and introduced himself to Hermione. "Your fiancé tells me you've lost a few years' worth of memories."

"Yes, it seems to be seven years." Hermione replied.

"Well I'll have a look and see what I can do." Healer Addams said. "Would you like to come through to my office?"

Hermione turned and looked at Ron, silently asking him to accompany her. Draco, Harry and Ginny all noticed this and both Harry and Ginny watched as Draco clenched his fists and turned away.

"I'll come in with you, Hermione." Ginny said, stepping in before Ron could offer his services. "The boys can wait here."

"Thanks, Gin." Hermione smiled and squeezed Ginny's hand as they followed the Healer to his office. Hermione wasn't bothered that it was Ginny rather than Ron accompanying her, she had just wanted someone with her.

"If you would pop up on the bed, Miss Granger, I'll check you over." Healer Addams said, closing the door to his office once they were all inside.

Hermione hopped onto the bed while Ginny sat down on a chair next to Hermione. Healer Addams gave Hermione a thorough going over, while he asked questions about her health. The few questions Hermione couldn't answer Ginny had been able to answer for her, such as if Hermione was on any medication and her recent medical history.

"There doesn't look to be any sort of physical injury to explain your memory loss." Healer Addams said, stepping back from the bed. "But that's doesn't necessarily rule out a bump to the head. Do you have any idea what you were doing before your memory loss occurred?"

"I don't know, I just woke up with no memory of recent years." Hermione shrugged. "I haven't got a clue what happened the night before."

"I can take a wild guess." Ginny snickered from her place next to Hermione. Hermione turned bright red as she turned to glare at Ginny, causing the redhead to laugh more.

"I'll speak with Mr Malfoy and check that you didn't accidently bump your head." Healer Addams said, picking up exactly what Ginny was insinuating. "You'd be surprised how many people bang their head during intercourse, especially if it's a bit rough and energetic."

Hermione stared at the Healer, her cheeks flaming in embarrassment. She was struggling enough with the fact she was engaged to Malfoy, the last thing she needed to think about was the possible rough, energetic sex she had with him.

"I'm also going to take a blood sample." Healer Addams seemed totally oblivious to Hermione's embarrassment as he went about his job. "We can test it for traces of any foreign substance in your system."

"Like a potion?" Hermione asked.

"Yes." Healer Addams said, preparing Hermione's arm for the blood sample. "You can't trace a potion by magic so we need to test for it. I'll also check for any spells when I'm done here."

Healer Addams gave Hermione a reassuring smile before he used his wand to magically draw several vials of blood. Watching her blood magically fill up the vials made Hermione relieved she was a witch, she would much rather do this than have to have a needle inserted in her skin to draw the blood the muggle way. When Healer Addams had finished collecting the blood he placed the vials onto his desk and used his wand to cast several different spells around Hermione.

"There's no trace of any spell in your aura." Healer Addams said, putting his wand back into his robes.

"What does that mean?" Ginny asked.

"It either means someone slipped Miss Granger a potion, in which case we'll find out which one when we examine her blood samples, or something else is going on." Healer Addams answered Ginny before turning to Hermione. "Before we discuss this any further perhaps we should get your fiancé in here."

"I don't know." Hermione said slowly. She knew Malfoy probably had the right to find out what was wrong with her but she still wasn't ready to deal with the fact he was in her life.

"Please, Hermione, let him in." Ginny pleaded with her friend. "He's going crazy with worry."

"Okay, but I want Harry and Ron to come in as well." Hermione said as she hopped off the bed.

"That's perfectly fine." Healer Addams smiled. "I'll go and get them, I'll also drop the bloods off at the lab."

Hermione and Ginny moved into seats in front of the Healer's desk as they waited for him to arrive back. He was back in under five minutes with Draco, Harry and Ron in tow. Hermione and Ginny immediately noticed that Ron was scowling while Harry was chuckling softly and Draco half smirked every time he looked at Ron. As the men settled into seats Harry whispered to Ginny that Healer Addams had just checked with Draco that Hermione hadn't banged her head the night before, apparently Draco had then said Hermione hadn't bumped her head and even when they were rough he cared enough to make sure she didn't injure herself. Ginny couldn't help but chuckle, knowing Draco's words were the reason for her brother's dark look.

"I've run numerous tests on Miss Granger and I'm confident her amnesia isn't caused by a bump to the head or a spell." Healer Addams addressed the group once everyone was settled.

"So what caused it then?" Harry asked.

"I've taken some blood samples and they're currently being tested for potion residue." Healer Addams explained. "If they come back negative we have to start looking into other possibilities"

"Like what?" Draco asked.

"Honestly, I'm not sure." Healer Addams admitted sheepishly. "I'll do some research so hopefully I can have more answers for you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Hermione questioned. "Why tomorrow? Why can't I have answers now?"

"It takes time to process the blood work, the results won't be in until tomorrow lunch time." Healer Addams. "I want to see you again tomorrow afternoon but until then I don't want to make any diagnosis or offer any false hope. I know it's tough but all we can do now is wait."

"What time tomorrow?" Hermione asked. She'd been hoping that a visit to the Healer would sort her right out and her life could return to normal, whatever normal was for her these days.

"As I said the results won't be in until lunch time and I'll need time to analyse them so I'm thinking maybe three." Healer Addams consulted his appointments as he was talking, making sure he had a space for Hermione.

"Three it is." Hermione nodded as she stood up. "Thank you, Healer Addams."

"Don't worry Miss Granger, we'll get to the bottom of this, I promise." Healer Addams smiled reassuringly to his patient.

Hermione smiled and thanked Healer Addams a second time before turning and leaving his office, heading back towards the waiting area. Slumping down in one of the seats she waited for her friends to follow her. Hermione knew that discussions would have to take place about what happened next, the problem was she didn't know what she wanted to happen next.

"So, it looks like we're returning tomorrow." Harry said, sitting down next to Hermione.

"You don't have to come back with me Harry, none of you do." Hermione said, looking up at Ginny and Ron who were both standing in front of her. Malfoy had sat down a few chairs away and Hermione was trying to avoid looking in his direction, she didn't want to exclude him from what was going on but she didn't want to encourage him either.

"Of course we're coming back with you." Ginny scoffed at Hermione's suggestion that they all abandon her. "We're all here to support you. We all want you back to normal."

Hermione noticed that Ron grimaced at his sister's words and turned his head away while Harry agreed with his wife. Hermione didn't know how Malfoy had reacted as she was still avoiding looking in his direction.

"Speaking of normal, are you going home?" Ginny asked softly. She and Draco had discussed Hermione's living arrangements earlier and Ginny had reassured Draco that if Hermione wasn't comfortable with returning home just yet she would make sure she stayed with them, not Ron.

"It's not my home." Hermione said softly. "I know it's where I live now but I'm not ready to go back yet."

"You can stay with me." Ron offered, a large grin on his face.

"Actually Ron, I was going to offer Hermione our spare room." Ginny told her brother, who glared at his little sister. "Your flat's barely big enough for one, at least at ours she'll have some space."

"Thanks, Gin." Hermione smiled at her friend. Despite the fact she had ran to Ron that morning she knew that Harry and Ginny's was the more logical place to be.

Ron glowered at his sister but didn't say anything as Harry arranged to go and pick some of Hermione's belongings up. Muttering about seeing them later at The Burrow, Ron turned and stalked away from the group.

Ginny shook her head at her brother as she stood up. "Come on Hermione, we'll go and get you settled in to the spare room."

Hermione stood up and was about to follow Ginny when she suddenly turned round and approached the blond that was still sitting a few chairs away. Throughout the whole discussion he had been quiet and Hermione felt an urge to check he was alright. When she reached him she was shocked to spot a gold chain around his neck and the ring she had taken off that morning dangling from it.

"Will you be here tomorrow?" Hermione asked.

"Yes." Draco looked up at Hermione and she could see the pain in his eyes. "I'm not going anywhere."

Hermione nodded her head, not really sure what else she should say. She was beginning to realise she would have to communicate with Malfoy but at the minute she just wasn't ready to deal with anything like that.

"Come on Hermione." Ginny walked over to Hermione and wrapped her arm around her shoulder. "Let's get you home."

Together the group walked to the lifts, where they headed to the ground floor. At the fireplaces Draco thanked Ginny for looking after Hermione before him and Harry flooed back to his place. While Harry went off to collect a few of Hermione's belonging's Ginny took the brunette witch back to her and Harry's house and began settling her into the guest room, all the while hoping her stay would be brief and her friend would soon be back home with Draco.


	5. The Weasley's

Hermione stopped on the stairs at Harry and Ginny's house, listening to the bickering couple down below her. It had been hours since her return from St Mungo's and Hermione had spent most of the afternoon in the guest room, napping and mulling over what she knew about her life. Eventually Hermione had gotten tired of the constant questions floating around in her head so she decided to come downstairs, which was when she realised her friends were arguing.

Hoping Harry and Ginny weren't fighting because of her presence Hermione sat down on the stairs and listened to the conversation. Within minutes she realised the couple were due at The Burrow for tea and were debating over whether to cancel, take her with them or leave her alone. Harry seemed to think that they shouldn't tell anyone about Hermione's amnesia as it could be fixed the following day. Ginny however was arguing that Ron would tell anyway so they might as well go and face the family.

Hermione agreed with Ginny, so she got up and padded down the rest of the stairs. Entering the front room she told Harry and Ginny that if they would have her she wanted to accompany them to The Burrow. She figured that seeing the Weasley's might fill her in on at least some events of the past seven years.

"Are you sure you're up for it?" Harry asked. "You might get bombarded with questions."

"I'm sure I will." Hermione chuckled, getting bombarded with questions was part of visiting The Burrow. "If it gets too much I can always come back here."

Knowing it was pointless to argue Harry agreed, although he did insist on going on ahead and informing the family what was going on. Hermione was pleased that Harry had the forethought to warn the Weasley's, at least that way she wouldn't have to worry about how to explain what was happening.

Hermione and Ginny gave Harry a fifteen minutes head start before the two women headed into the fireplace and flooed to The Burrow, Ginny leading the way. When Hermione arrived at The Burrow she was shocked to find Ginny and Molly were the only two people in the front room, to be honest she half expected the entire family to be waiting for her arrival.

"Hermione dear, how are you?" Molly immediately rushed over and hugged Hermione.

Hermione returned the hug briefly before pulling away. As much as she liked Molly, when the older witch fussed over her Hermione was reminded of how her mother was missing and she had no idea where she was. Although now Hermione was also wondering if seven years later she had made any progress in her search, maybe she now knew where her parents were.

"I'm okay." Hermione smiled at the older witch. "Where is everyone?"

"In the garden, I figured it was best not to overwhelm you with everyone." Molly explained. "Not that everyone's here, Bill and Fleur are currently in France visiting Fleur's parents and Percy is away with his fiancée."

"Percy has a fiancée?" Hermione asked, quite surprised by the news. The Percy she remembered was only concerned with work and never bothered socialising.

"Her name's Audrey, Percy met her at a conference about cauldrons a few years ago." Ginny explained.

"They have conferences about cauldrons?" Hermione queried.

"You know Percy, he always finds the most thrilling things to do." Ginny said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at her brother's expense. "I swear only Percy could find such a thing."

"Obviously not if he found a girlfriend at the event." Hermione laughed. "So what's she like?"

"She's like a female Percy, dull." Ginny said, earning her a smack on the arm from her mother.

"Ignore Ginny, Audrey's perfectly nice." Molly told Hermione. "She has the most impeccable manners."

"Like I said, dull, dull, dull." Ginny whispered to Hermione as she walked over and grabbed her arm. "Come one let's go and see who's here."

Ginny led Hermione into the kitchen and the two women stood peering out of the window, trying to decide who was present. They quickly spotted Arthur and Charlie standing talking while four figures seemed to be in the air, flying on broomsticks. An examination of the flying figures revealed them to be Harry, Ron, George and Neville Longbottom. Ginny explained that Neville was now married to Luna Lovegood, the couple had only just gotten together the last Hermione remembered so she was pleased it had worked out for them. Continuing their search of the garden Hermione and Ginny spotted Luna and George's wife Angelina, sitting on a blanket. Hermione was thrilled to hear George was happily married as her last memories of him were of him mourning the loss of Fred and struggling to move on.

"Are you ready to go outside?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, come on." Hermione nodded and led the way to the back door.

Stepping outside Arthur and Charlie rushed over to Hermione, giving her a quick hug and checking she was okay.

"I'm sure the Healer's will know what to do." Arthur reassured her. "Before you know it you'll be back to normal."

"I hope so." Hermione said. "Everything is so odd."

"I bet it is." Charlie laughed. "Your life's pretty different from seven years ago, that's got to take some getting used to."

"I'm not sure I'll ever get used to it." Hermione said quietly, thinking about Malfoy. No matter how much she thought about the blond Slytherin she just couldn't work out where he fit into her life, she just couldn't imagine any scenario where he would be the person she would want to marry.

"Let's go and see Luna and Angelina." Ginny said to Hermione, sensing she was worrying about Draco and how he fit into her life.

Hermione said goodbye to Arthur and Charlie before following Ginny across the lawn. As they approached the two women Hermione was surprised to see Angelina was pregnant, Ginny had failed to mention that earlier when she was explaining about her and George.

"Hermione, how are you?" Angelina asked as they approached. "I would get up but it took me ten minutes to get down here."

"Don't get up on my account." Hermione said, settling down next to Angelina. "I'm fine, how are you?"

"Apart from being the size of a house?" Angelina chuckled. "I'm actually pretty good, although I can't wait for him to come out now."

"You're having a boy." Hermione exclaimed.

"Yes, we're calling him Fred." Angelina placed a hand on her protruding stomach as she got all misty eyed about her husband's twin.

"That's lovely." Hermione smiled. "I'm really pleased for you and George."

"Well as long as you're still pleased when it's your turn to babysit." Angelina laughed. "As godparents I expect you and Draco to do your fair share."

"Godparents." Hermione's eyes widened and she looked at Angelina in bemusement.

"Sorry Hermione, I totally forgot." Angelina winced at her mistake. Harry had told them that until the Healer's diagnosis they had no idea what was wrong with Hermione so they had no idea whether it was safe to reveal things about her life.

"It's fine." Hermione brushed Angelina's apology to the side, wondering how much more she could find out about her life from the pregnant witch. "How did you select Malfoy and me as godparents?"

Angelina looked at Ginny for guidance over what to do about Hermione's question, but the redhead was too busy talking to Luna to notice the dilemma Angelina found herself in. Deciding to make a judgement call herself Angelina decided it couldn't hurt to answer Hermione's question.

"Most of the people we spend time with are already family so you two are the perfect choice, plus George and Draco are great friends." Angelina explained.

Hermione wanted to ask how Malfoy and George had become such good friends but she sensed Angelina was uncomfortable with telling her things. Hermione wasn't sure what Harry had told the Weasley's regarding her memories but it was only just occurring to her that they had never asked the Healer about whether she should find out things about her life or be left in the dark.

"Hermione how are you feeling?" Luna's dreamy voice jolted Hermione out of her thoughts.

"I'm okay, Luna." Hermione smiled at the blonde girl.

"You're aura's all wrong." Luna wrinkled her nose as she looked at Hermione. "I think you've got Wrackspurt's floating around your head, trying to get in."

Hermione looked unsure as to what to say to Luna, clearly seven years had done nothing for her weird beliefs on non-existent magical creatures. Angelina and Ginny however were openly chuckling at Luna's behaviour.

"Do you want me to look after your shop until you're better?" Luna asked, suddenly changing the subject.

Once again Hermione wasn't sure what to say. She was pleased that her shop seemed to have taken off, it was only in the early stages of her memories, but she was unsure if she trusted Luna to run her business for her.

"Luna works in the shop." Ginny explained to Hermione, knowing her friend would need some sort of explanation. "She's been helping you out for years."

"Thanks Luna, I would really appreciate that." Hermione smiled at Luna, once she knew she trusted her and the blonde knew what she was doing Hermione was more than happy to leave her in charge. "I don't know how long it'll be for though. I'm hoping to get back to normal as soon as possible but who knows what will happen."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of the place till you're ready." Luna said.

"Thanks." Hermione said, just as the four men landed nearby and made their way over to the blanket.

Harry and Ron both checked Hermione was okay while Neville and George gave her a hug and expressed their sympathies over what had happened. As the men settled down and the after match Quidditch bantering began Hermione felt perfectly at ease, the competitive nature of the boys when it came to Quidditch hadn't diminished over time.

"Next time I want a change of partner." George moaned. "Neville is useless."

"Hey, it's not my fault flying isn't my forte." Neville argued. "I didn't even want to play but you insisted."

"Well my regular partner isn't exactly available, is he?" George retorted, gesturing in Hermione's direction.

Hermione was guessing that George's comment meant that Malfoy was normally his partner, although she didn't know if he wasn't available because of what had happened to her or if they just weren't originally planning to visit today. The thought of Malfoy visiting The Burrow and playing Quidditch with the Weasley's was an odd one and she made a note to add it to the list of things she wanted to explore further.

"Food's ready." Molly suddenly called, disrupting the bickering between George and Neville.

George helped Angelina to her feet and the group made their way into the kitchen. Harry and Ginny tried to position Hermione in-between them but before they had a chance to sit her down Molly ushered Hermione into a seat beside her. Ron settled down on the other side of Hermione as everyone dug into the glorious spread Molly had provided.

"You know Hermione you can come and stay here if you want." Molly said, once the meal was underway and everyone was talking amongst themselves. "It might help to be in familiar surroundings with people who love you."

"I'm with Harry and Ginny at the minute, but thanks for the offer." Hermione replied.

"Don't forget there's my place as well." Ron said. He'd been listening to the conversation and decided to join in. "Just remember that you don't have to go anywhere near Malfoy if you don't want. Don't let Harry and Ginny push you into something you don't want."

"Ron's right, this could be an opportunity to make changes in your life and put right things that are wrong." Molly added, backing her son up.

Hermione nodded and pondered Ron and Molly's words. It was clear from that morning that Ron still didn't like Malfoy and certainly didn't approve of her relationship with him, now it would appear Molly felt the same way. Ron's disapproval could be put down to jealousy, even though Hermione still wasn't sure why their relationship had ended or who had ended it she knew enough to realise that Ron still had feelings for her. Molly's disapproval was harder to explain and Hermione had to wonder if the older witch was offering her some solid advice, advice she should listen to.

Hermione thought on Ron and Molly's words for the remainder of the meal and when everyone headed back outside she excused herself. Ginny offered to accompany her back home but Hermione insisted the redhead stay with her family a bit longer. Reassuring Ginny she would be fine and she would call if she needed anything Hermione went back to Harry and Ginny's house.

Alone in her friend's house Hermione took the opportunity to look around, in her memories the couple were living at Grimmauld Place as they saved up for a place of their own. The house was only small and looked to be in the middle of the countryside but it oozed warmth and instantly made Hermione feel comfortable. Hermione spent nearly ten minutes looking around the house, until she spotted some pictures on the fireplace.

The picture that she was looking at was of Harry and Ginny's wedding, an event that had happened two and a half years ago according to Ginny. Harry and Ginny looked every inch the happy couple but it wasn't them that had caught Hermione's eye. The picture was a group picture and standing a couple of people away from the bride was Hermione, with Malfoy standing beside her. Hermione watched as she smiled for the camera, the whole time snuggling into Malfoy's side. While Harry and Ginny may have looked the picture of happiness so did she and Malfoy, they looked every bit in love as the bride and groom.

Putting the picture down Hermione turned and left the front room, heading for the spare room. Seeing pictures of her with Malfoy wasn't something she was willing to deal with at the minute. It hadn't even been twelve hours since she woke up and everything was happening so fast, there was so much to take in and so much Hermione just didn't understand.

Her life now made no sense to her and right at the minute she didn't have the energy to try and figure it out. Curling up on the guest bed in Harry and Ginny's house Hermione slipped into a fretful sleep, hoping that tomorrow when she woke this day would have just been a bad dream and her life would make sense again.


	6. Reminiscing

**A/N - Thanks for everyone for their amazing support of this story. I know people are eager for Hermione to start asking questions about her life and I promise that very soon she will begin finding things out. At the minute she's still a bit overwhelmed and not ready to deal with how her life has changed but very soon she will start to learn about her life with Draco and discover what went wrong with Ron. Sorry for the ramble, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

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After Harry had briefly accompanied him home to pick up a few bits for Hermione, Draco was left all alone in the house he usually shared with his fiancée. The house wasn't particularly large and it wasn't even the first time he had spent a few days alone in it but with the current circumstances it felt big and lonely. For a while Draco wandered from room to room until he finally settled onto the sofa in the front room. He briefly contemplated going to get a book to read but knowing he wouldn't be able to concentrate Draco instead choose to run over the afternoon's events as the hospital.

When Hermione had first shown up at the hospital and had turned away from him Draco had wondered if he had lost her permanently. Despite Harry's reassurance that he had spoken to her and all she needed was time before she realised she would have to deal with Draco and the life they had together, Draco still worried that too much association with Weasley would push her away from him for good. The fact that Weasley was sitting in the waiting room smirking at Draco only confirmed the blond's fears that he would try and use the situation to get back with Hermione.

Draco's hopes did rise slightly when Healer Addams came into the waiting room and said that he could accompany him into his office for the final part of his consultation with Hermione. However when he also said Harry and Weasley could come too Draco was less impressed, he actually had no problem with Harry being there but he would rather not have Hermione's ex with them. Normally Draco was totally unconcerned by Hermione's friendship with Weasley, he was secure enough in their relationship to know that Hermione loved him and would always pick him over her ex, but without her memories he was suddenly nervous of Weasley's presence in Hermione's life.

It was that worry that led Draco to have a dig at Weasley when Healer Addams asked about Hermione banging her head the night before. After confirming that Hermione hadn't banged her head Draco hadn't been able to resist making a comment about making sure Hermione wasn't hurt even when they did get a bit rough. Draco knew that despite their two year relationship the physical side of Hermione and Weasley's relationship had been mediocre, he also knew from experience that Weasley got flustered and uncomfortable at any mention of his and Hermione's sex life. The one time the redhead had actually caught them in the act Draco had thought he was going to explode as he had turned so red.

The rest of the visit had also left Draco feeling more hopeful. There was a good chance that when they returned to St Mungo's the following day that they would know what was wrong with Hermione and hopefully fix her. And even if things were going to progress slower, Draco had been relived that Hermione at least acknowledged the fact she lived with him. He'd also noticed that she said she wasn't ready to return home yet, the use of the word yet had Draco hoping that sometime soon she would feel ready to come home.

Draco was still disappointed that Hermione wouldn't come home with him, but at least she was with the Potter's rather than Weasley. Draco knew that Harry and Ginny were good friends and they would help Hermione see that he wasn't a bad guy and he deserved a chance to prove to her he had changed. Draco wasn't naive enough to believe that Weasley still wouldn't try and talk her out of seeing him but he was hoping Harry and Ginny could keep her away from him as much as possible.

Despite the fact she wasn't willing to come home with him Draco was pleased that she had at least spoken civilly to him. When she asked if he was returning to the hospital the following day Draco wasn't sure what answer she was hoping for, but she didn't look disappointed when he said he would be there for her. Draco still didn't know if he had given the answer she wanted but at least she hadn't told him to stay away, that had to be a positive thing in his opinion. Surely if she was so against having him in her life she would have ordered him to stay away.

Feeling a bit brighter about the situation, Draco headed into the kitchen in search of food. He was only just realising that it was mid-afternoon and he hadn't had a bite to eat all day. Draco made himself a sandwich as he wondered if he should go to the Manor for dinner, if he stayed at home he would only miss Hermione more and sit around the house brooding.

After making the decision to visit his parents Draco tried to do a bit of work in his study for a few hours before he headed off to get changed. His mother would throw a fit if he turned up at the Manor in jeans and t-shirt so Draco changed in more appropriate clothes of black trousers and a dark blue shirt, he did however keep the chain holding Hermione's ring round his neck.

When Draco arrived at the Manor he was informed by one of the elves that his parents were in the living room with a guest. Making his way to the living room Draco found his father sitting reading the paper while his mother was sitting on the sofa discussing something with Pansy Parkinson. Pansy was a fashion designer with her own bespoke collection so Draco figured the two witches were discussing Pansy designing a dress for his mother.

"Draco, I didn't expect to see you today." Narcissa exclaimed, getting up to greet her son. "Pansy was just here talking about my dress for the wedding."

"That's great." Draco said without enthusiasm, at the minute he had no idea if there was even going to be a wedding.

"Is everything alright?" Narcissa asked, taken aback by Draco's lacklustre response. Normally she only had to mention the fact he was getting married to get a smile out of her son.

"Not really no." Draco sighed, dropping onto a nearby chair and running his hand through his hair. "Hermione has amnesia."

"What? How on earth has that happened?" Lucius asked. He had put his paper down when Draco had entered the room and he noticed how depressed his son looked.

"We don't know. We went to the healer's at lunchtime and he's running some tests. We should know more tomorrow."

"That's so awful." Pansy murmured. Moving to sit on the arm of Draco's chair she started stroking his hair gently.

"How much of her memory has she lost?" Narcissa asked.

"Seven years." Draco replied with a sigh.

"You poor thing." Pansy purred, pressing herself closer to Draco. "She won't remember a thing about you. Well apart from school and I'm sure that's not what you want her to remember."

"Thanks for pointing that out, Pans." Draco snapped, pulling away from his friend.

"Sorry, I was just trying to help." Pansy pouted.

"I'm sorry, Pansy. I shouldn't have snapped at you." Draco sighed. It wasn't Pansy's fault that Hermione had lost her memory and his friend really didn't deserve to be snapped at when all she was doing was being nice to him.

"It's okay." Pansy smiled. "I've got to go now, but floo me if you need anything."

"Thanks, Pans." Draco gave Pansy a quick hug and a peck on the cheek before his friend briefly arranged another meeting with Narcissa before she left the Manor.

"So where's Hermione now?" Narcissa asked once Pansy had left and the family was alone.

"She's with the Potter's." Draco replied. "She didn't exactly react well to seeing me this morning and she certainly wasn't ready to come home with me this afternoon."

"I guess this means the wedding's off then." Lucius said with a smirk as he stood up.

"Lucius, don't be so callous." Narcissa glared at her husband. "Our son's going through a major trauma and all you can do is gloat."

"I wasn't gloating, I was merely stating a fact." Lucius responded.

"It's not a fact." Draco told his father, standing up to confront him. "Things might look a bit bleak at the minute, but I'm sure we'll end up getting married."

"Really?" Lucius raised an eyebrow at Draco and reached out to touch Hermione's ring that was hanging around Draco's neck. "This doesn't exactly look too promising."

"She was overwhelmed this morning." Draco snatched the ring back off his father and tucked it under his shirt. "Hopefully when she calms down we can talk and work things out."

"You honestly think things will work out if she has no memory of you?" Lucius asked.

"Hopefully her memories will return soon and even if they don't I reckon I can persuade her to give me a chance. After all, I've done it before." Draco said.

"As you say, hopefully it won't be an issue and Hermione will be back to normal soon." Narcissa said, interrupting the two men. "Now if you two will stop bickering I can go and see if dinner is ready. You are staying, aren't you Draco?" Narcissa turned to her son, hoping he was in fact staying for dinner.

"Yes, that's what I came round for." Draco said. "I needed some company as well." He added hastily, not wanting his mother to think he only visited her for the food.

Narcissa smiled at Draco before leaving to check on dinner, not before she quietly warned her husband to behave however. While Narcissa was with the elves Lucius and Draco made small talk and discussed Draco's business, neither man mentioned Hermione or her amnesia. When Narcissa returned she announced dinner was nearly ready so the trio made their way into the dining room.

Dinner was slightly stilted as Lucius didn't want to anger his wife by mentioning Hermione while Narcissa didn't want to mention her in case it upset Draco. Draco meanwhile was missing Hermione, not talking about her only made him realise how big a part of his life she was. Talk about his work and his friends only took a couple of minutes but the majority of his time was spent with Hermione so most of what he spoke about with his parents involved Hermione in some way.

After dinner Draco made his excuses and left the Manor to head home. Despite it only been early Draco decided to head straight to bed. As Draco retrieved the bed sheet from where Hermione had escaped into the bathroom with it that morning he wondered if he should sleep in the spare room. While he had felt Hermione's absence throughout the house it was in the bedroom that the feeling of missing her was the strongest. Eventually deciding he would rather be in his own bed Draco pulled on a pair of pyjama pants and collapsed onto the bed, thinking about Hermione and what she meant to him.

Before Hermione, Draco's life had been a parade of meaningless flings and filling his time in between women with Pansy. Draco had never really considered settling down or even getting serious with a woman, until he started to come into regular contact with Hermione. Unlike the bimbos he usually dated, who would agree with everything he said and thought he was amazing, Draco found Hermione more of a challenge. Because of their history she wasn't immediately taken with his good looks and flirty nature and she certainly didn't agree with everything he said. Draco loved the fact Hermione had her own opinions on everything and even if they differed from his she stood by them, he also liked the fact she respected his opinions and even if she had a different take on the subject she didn't automatically assume she was correct and he was wrong.

Draco had discovered all this as they had struck up a friendship in the three months she helped him locate a set of books for work. As the friendship had grown so had Draco's attraction to Hermione. It had started off with simple things, like noticing her hair was sleeker than in school or realising how her eyes sparkled when she was amused. The attraction grew as Draco began noticing Hermione's lovely figure and the sparks he felt when they accidentally touched. By the time he asked her out Draco was incredibly attracted to her physically and craved the time he spent talking and debating with her.

Since Hermione was the first woman he ever considered having a real future with Draco made sure the relationship progressed slowly. He knew early on in the relationship that Hermione could be the person he spent the rest of his life with so he wanted to make sure he did nothing to mess it up. The slow pace of the relationship also helped their friends and family see that they were serious and not rushing into anything, in fact the only people never to really accept them were Lucius and Ron. A few other people were still hesitant and probably wouldn't be too sad if the relationship failed but it seemed it was just the two of them that couldn't seem to accept that Draco and Hermione loved each other.

As he continued to think about Hermione and how much he missed her Draco's mind inevitably went to the more physical side of their relationship. While Draco and Hermione could spend hours debating literature, politics or anything else in the news and spend hours in each other's company just talking they really connected in the bedroom. Draco knew early on in their relationship that the passion in their debates could lead to an explosive sex life, it certainly lead to some heated kissing sessions in the early days of their relationship.

Because they were taking things slow it was a few months before Draco and Hermione ended up in bed but even before they did Draco had discovered that Hermione was extremely receptive to his touch and he could reduce her to a quivering mess just by talking dirty to her. When they did end up in bed Draco was actually surprised by how hesitant Hermione was, it was clear her previous experiences just required her to lie there while Weasley did his thing. From everything else they had done together Draco knew that Hermione was an extremely passionate person so he set out to release her inner sex kitten.

Draco started out his quest by giving up control to Hermione in bed. He made her dictate everything they did and got her to tell him what she wanted him to do to her. Hermione was incredibly self-conscious and hesitant at first but the more Draco kept telling her how amazing and sexy she was the more confident she became. Within months their sex life was every bit as explosive as Draco thought it would be and Hermione wasn't the least bit hesitant in either initiating sex or telling Draco what she wanted from him.

With her new found confidence Hermione also ended up introducing Draco to the prospect of dressing up, although it had just started with a bit of sex outdoors.

It had actually all started purely by accident when Draco had gotten sick of Hermione's Gryffindor friends teasing him over being the only Slytherin playing Quidditch with them. So one Sunday he had arranged for a few of his friends to join them in the field behind the Burrow, where the group always played. All of Draco's friends were Slytherins and they all showed up wearing their old jerseys from school so all the Gryffindors popped home to change as well and a fierce Gryffindor versus Slytherin game got under way.

As usual Hermione and the other girls were watching but when the game was over Hermione refused the offer to go The Burrow for lunch. Draco wasn't complaining as most times he didn't go and when he did, he never felt comfortable. He certainly wasn't complaining when after everyone had left Hermione had jumped him there and then, telling him he looked sexy in his Quidditch shirt.

After their afternoon in the field Draco went to Ginny, who was a professional Quidditch player, and asked her to get him a full on Quidditch uniform. Draco was hoping that if his top got Hermione going then a whole outfit could prove to be extremely successful. Sure enough Hermione loved the idea and even asked Draco if there was anything she could dress up as for him. Draco had immediately asked if she had her old school uniform, Hermione had smiled and said she would see what she could do.

A week later Draco had been working in his study when Hermione entered, in a school uniform. Her skirt was extremely short and only just covered her backside and her white shirt was tight with the top few buttons undone, revealing the tops of her creamy breasts and a hint of the lacy green bra she was wearing. However what pleased Draco the most was the silver and green Slytherin tie that was loosely knotted around her neck. Needless to say the couple had hours of fun with Hermione's sexy outfit.

Thinking of Hermione in her school uniform was enough to make Draco realise he had made a bad decision by dwelling on that part of their lives, he was now in serious need of some sort of relief. Throwing himself off the bed Draco headed into the bathroom for a shower, preferable a cold one.


	7. Answers

When Hermione woke up in Harry and Ginny's guest room she couldn't help but be disappointed, she had been hoping her ordeal was over. Although Hermione wasn't sure if she hoped to wake up in her flat with the memories she could still remember or in the bed she woke up in the previous day with the last seven years' worth of memories back in her head. Either way she didn't want to carry on having to cope with constantly wondering how she had ended up where she had. But it seemed as though she still had another day of uncertainty in front of her.

Getting out of bed Hermione grabbed some things Harry had brought for her yesterday and headed for the bathroom. When she was dressed Hermione headed downstairs, where she found Harry and Ginny in the kitchen having breakfast. After checking she was alright Harry had to rush off to work but he vowed to be back before it was time to leave for the hospital, he was an Auror and Hermione understood how important his job was and that he couldn't just take time off at the drop of a hat. Ginny managed to spend more time with Hermione but she also had to rush off, she was a Chaser for The Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team and had a morning's training session she needed to attend.

Left all alone Hermione read the morning's paper before she went into the Potter's front room. There was a book shelf in the corner of the room and whilst the choice wasn't the greatest, neither Harry or Ginny were big readers, Hermione did manage to find something half decent to read. Settling down on the sofa Hermione spent the morning in a fantasy world as she lost herself in the pages of her book rather than dwell on what was happening in her life.

Shortly after one, Ginny returned home and the two women had lunch together. Hermione tried asking Ginny questions about her life but the redhead only told her snippets, although she did promise to tell Hermione whatever she wanted to know if it was okay with the Healer, providing he couldn't just fix her there and then. After lunch the two women settled into the front room and chatted until Harry and Ron arrived at half two. Like Harry, Ron was also an Auror, although Hermione wasn't sure how they had both secured time off work to accompany her to the hospital.

Once Hermione was ready the group flooed to St Mungo's and made their way to Healer Addams office. Despite it not being quite three when they arrived they found Malfoy already waiting for them. Hermione watched closely as both Harry and Ginny greeted Malfoy friendly, obviously the Potter's had no problem with the blond.

"Hello Hermione. How are you today?" Draco asked, turning his attention to his fiancée.

"I'm okay." Hermione replied. While it felt weird to be talking civilly to Malfoy she figured that if Harry and Ginny were treating him like a friend then he was very different to the boy she remembered. "I'm just hoping we get some answers today."

"We all do." Harry said as he sat down on a chair next to Malfoy.

Ginny sat down next to her husband while Ron sat opposite them, glaring at his sister and best friend. Yet again it was obvious that Harry and Ron had had words and yet again Ron's dislike of Malfoy was shining through. Hermione was getting confused as to which of her friends to believe, Ron and Molly clearly disliked Malfoy and thought she shouldn't be with him while Ginny and Harry obviously liked him and supported the relationship. Not wanting to look as though she was choosing sides Hermione sat a little way away from them all, keeping to herself until Healer Addams appeared in the doorway.

"Miss Granger, would you like to come through." The Healer smiled at Hermione. "Your friends can all come as well if you wish."

Hermione nodded as she got up and followed the Healer. Arriving in Healer Addams office the group settled themselves down in front of his desk. Hermione found herself sitting next to Malfoy while Ginny and Harry made sure Ron was stuck on the end of the line, as far away from Hermione as was possible to get. Normally Hermione would have scolded her friends for being so childish but she was more concerned with hearing what the Healer had discovered.

"Well the analysis of the blood samples is in and I can confirm Miss Granger has been drugged." Healer Addams said. "There's traces of a powerful memory repressor in her system called Amissus. Amissus is mainly used in hospitals to treat people suffering from severe trauma, it represses the memory and slowly releases it back into the person's brain a bit at a time, enabling them to process what they're going through at a rate they can cope with."

"How long does it take for it to wear off and to release the memories back to me?" Hermione asked.

"Normally somewhere between a week and a fortnight is the normal rate, but it all depends on how potent the potion is that Hermione's been given." Draco was the one who responded, causing everyone to look at him. "The Potion is one of Serpent's Lair's concoctions, I created it." He explained at the questioning looks.

"What's Serpent's Lair?" Hermione asked.

"My Potions Company." Draco explained. "Amissus was the first potion I created. It was basically created to help people cope with the effects of the war. So many people had witnessed so much they just couldn't handle it, the potion is meant to be a controlled way of helping people deal with traumatic events."

"How has that ended up in Hermione?" Harry asked. "I thought it was only available through medical practitioners."

"It is." Draco said. "We only supply hospitals and trained medical personnel."

"Some Healers prescribe it to some of their patients." Healer Addams said. "I spoke to a colleague of mine and it's common for a weakened dose to be prescribed if people are considered not to be at risk of abusing it."

"So someone who has been prescribed this potion has slipped it to me." Hermione said. "Why? And how can a weakened dose take away seven years' worth of memories?"

"I don't know about the why but the strength of the dose doesn't control how many memories are taken, that happens when it is brewed. The strength is what dictates how long it takes to wear off." Healer Addams explained.

"How do you work out what memories to take?" Harry asked Draco.

"The potion isn't one of these you drown straight from the bottle, you need to brew it fresh on the day of consumption. What we provide is the main elixir that you mix with water and bring to the boil. While you're brewing it you add a piece of parchment into the mixture with the exact dates or times you want to forget." Draco explained how the potion worked to the rest of the room as they all watched him in fascination.

"Do you think we can get a list of everyone who's being prescribed this potion?" Harry asked the Healer. "Maybe that way we can work out who has given it to Hermione."

"You'll have to go through the proper legal channels with the hospital, but that should get you the results you need." Healer Addams replied. "But as for right now, now we know what's wrong all we have to do is be patient and Miss Granger's memories will return."

"That's it, just wait." Hermione said, unimpressed.

"Basically." Healer Addams smiled apologetically. "Although I do recommend surrounding yourself in familiar places with familiar things. Try and live your life as normally as possible, a normal routine will hopefully help the memories surface."

"What about people telling her things about her life?" Ginny asked. "Will that harm her?"

"No." Healer Addams shook his head as he smiled. "Actually that could help, something someone says could trigger a memory."

"Do I need to come back to see you?" Hermione asked.

"I'll need to see you next week, hopefully by then the potion will be wearing off and you'll be heading back to normal." Healer Addams said, flipping through his appointment book looking for a suitable slot for Hermione. "Is next Wednesday okay? Ten o' clock."

"That's fine." Hermione said, standing and shaking hands with the Healer. "Thank you."

"See you next week." Healer Addams smiled as the group made their way out of his office.

Like the previous day Hermione led the way into the waiting area and everyone settled down in one of the seats. Everyone apart from Ron who paced the floor in front of where Hermione was sitting.

"I can get going tomorrow on getting the list of patients with a prescription." Harry told Hermione and Draco. "Although things like that usually take a few weeks."

"Why bother?" Ron scoffed. "I can tell you right now who did it, he's sitting beside you."

"What are you suggesting Weasley?" Draco snarled, getting up and glaring at the redhead.

"It's an awful coincidence that it's your potion that took Hermione's memories. You would know exactly how to concoct it to make her forget and probably never remember." Ron sneered, trying to provoke the blond into attacking him. The fact the Healer said Hermione should lead a normal life had him worried she would return to live with Malfoy.

"And why would I do that Weasley? Why would I want my own fiancée to forget me? What would I gain by having the woman I love look at me as though I was the worst thing she'd ever seen?" Draco asked with a scowl. "It's more likely that someone who wanted her back had slipped her the potion. It's an awful coincidence that her memories take her right back to just before you started behaving like a prat and drove her away."

"That's enough." Ginny moved between the two men, not wanting a full on fight to take place. "Stop the accusations, Harry can look into it professionally and find the culprit. We should be concentrating on Hermione."

"You're right." Draco sighed, turning away from a scowling Ron. "I'm sorry, Hermione."

Hermione looked up at Malfoy, seeing a different side to him. The way he had stood up to Ron had revealed just how much he loved her and the pain in his voice when he described the way she had looked at him the previous morning was heart-breaking. Hermione had also noticed that it seemed to be her who had left Ron after he had done something to drive her away.

"It's fine." Hermione said eventually, noticing the relief wash over Malfoy's face as she accepted his apology. "We're all a bit highly strung at the minute."

"I think the fact that someone we know has done this has us all on edge." Draco said as he sat back down near to Hermione.

"How do you know it's someone we know?" Hermione asked.

"The potion works within three hours of consumption, it varies depending on the amount of memories you want to bury. Even seven years of memories won't take longer than three, maybe four, hours to bury. That means you have to have consumed the potion at our engagement party." Draco explained.

"Chances are someone slipped it into your drink unnoticed." Harry added. He'd wanted to check the timing with Draco before making any assumptions but he had also already considered the possibility it was someone close to Hermione who had done this to her.

"Who would do that?" Hermione asked, totally shocked that someone she knew was responsible for the state she was in.

"Someone who doesn't want you with me." Draco said, staring pointedly at Ron.

"Then maybe you should look closer to home." Ron retorted. "We all know your father doesn't approve of Hermione. And let's be honest it would be just like him to pull a stunt like this."

"First of all if father did do this why did he take seven years of Hermione's memories? We've only been together for five so that's all he needed to take. And secondly if he was going to try and split us up he would target me, not Hermione." Draco scoffed at Ron's suggestion that Lucius was responsible for Hermione's predicament. "This looks far more like someone wanting her back with you, not just trying to get her away from me."

"I agree with Draco." Ginny said. "This is more about Hermione and Ron than Hermione and Draco."

"I've had enough of this, even my own sister is accusing me. I'm off." Ron threw his hand sup in the air and turned away from his sister, who was protesting she wasn't blaming him. "I didn't do this, Hermione." He said before stalking away and disappearing round the corner.

"I wasn't trying to blame him." Ginny said, looking in the direction Ron had gone. "I know he would never do this to Hermione, even if he is still holding a torch for her."

"I know you weren't blaming him, sweetheart." Harry put an arm around his wife and pulled her into his side. "We'll talk to him later and clear the air."

"Okay, but now we need to decide what Hermione's doing?" Still sitting close to Harry, Ginny turned to look at her friend. "I think you should go home. Harry and I will just be a floo call away if you need us."

Hermione bit her bottom lip and looked around uncertainly. Ever since the Healer mentioned living a normal life and going about her normal routine she knew this was coming, but she still wasn't sure if she was ready to go home with Malfoy. She knew he would be the ideal person to talk to and find out things about her life, not to mention the questions she would get answered if she could just have a good look around the house she now lived in.

"I can move into the spare room." Draco offered, sensing Hermione needed a push to get her to agree to come home. "I'll also be around as much or as little as you want."

"I don't want to push you out of your home." Hermione said.

"It's your home too." Draco replied. "Besides you won't be pushing me out if you don't want me around I'll spend my time in the spare room or my study."

"Okay, I'll come home." Hermione said hesitantly. "But I don't want you feeling as though you have to hide away. I would prefer it if one of us was in the spare room but as for the rest of the house, it looked big enough for us both to move around comfortably without getting in each other's way but without totally avoiding each other."

"How about I go home and move some of my stuff to the spare room while you go back to the Potter's and get your stuff." Draco suggested. "Then you can come and settle in."

Hermione agreed as they stood up and made their way back to the ground floor. Like the previous day they split into two groups and headed to the two separate houses, but unlike the previous day they knew that by the end of the day the two respective couples would be back in their rightful homes. Even if for the time being Draco and Hermione would be in separate beds.


	8. Returning Home

Nearly an hour after leaving the hospital Hermione, Harry and Ginny flooed to Hermione and Draco's house. Hermione had persuaded her friends to accompany her home and they had both agreed not to leave until Hermione was comfortable to be left alone with Malfoy.

When they arrived at her house Hermione looked around the room she had arrived in. It was the same room she had left from the previous morning, only this time she took the opportunity to look around. The room was medium sized and quite cosy but it lacked the personal touch she always felt her home would have. Hermione looked around the room in distaste, she couldn't imagine spending any time in here.

"This isn't the main front room." Harry said, spotting the unimpressed look on his friend's face. "This is just the room connected to the floo network. Neither you or Malfoy appreciate people dropping in unannounced so you placed the floo in this room so that if anyone did pop by they wouldn't walk in on something."

"Walk in on something? What would you walk in on?" Hermione was puzzled until she spotted Ginny snickering beside Harry. Hermione blushed bright red, she hoped she was misunderstanding Ginny's laughter but something told her she wasn't.

"Maybe we should go and find Malfoy." Harry suggested. He was also looking a bit uncomfortable with the conversation, although his reason was the memories of the many embarrassing times he had caught his friend in a compromising position with her blond partner.

The trio didn't have far to go to find the man in question, when they left the floo room they entered the front hallway they found Draco descending the stairs. Draco smiled warmly at Hermione and greeted Harry and Ginny like old friends. Despite the fact the two men used surnames when addressing each other Hermione could see the friendship between them, clearly the past was long forgotten.

"I was thinking you might like something to eat." Draco said, turning to Hermione.

"You cook?" Hermione asked in surprise.

Harry burst out laughing at the question and Hermione watched in fascination as Draco playfully wacked her best friend on the arm.

"It's not funny, Potter."

"Oh, it is." Harry said, still laughing. "The last time you cooked you nearly burnt the place down. I can still picture you coming to our place with singed eyebrows and black hair from all the smoke."

"It was a slight miscalculation with the timer." Draco told Hermione, who was smiling at the antidote.

"Yeah, the recipe book said to cook the lasagne for forty minutes and this idiot put it in for four hours." Ginny added. She herself was laughing at the memory that had happened nearly a year ago.

"It was an honest mistake, anyone could have done it." Draco shrugged. By this point he was also laughing gently at the memory.

Watching her friends laughing with Malfoy, Hermione could really see he had changed. She was still wary of him because of the past and because of her recent conversations with Ron and Molly but she was beginning to suspect that Harry and Ginny were the better people to listen to in regards to the blond's change of attitude. Harry and Ginny had clearly taken the time to get to know Malfoy and they obviously spent time with him, something she doubted Ron had done.

"Fine, I can't cook." Draco said after Harry and Ginny continued to mock him. "I was thinking of going to get take away, there's a nice Chinese place around the corner."

"I like Chinese." Hermione said. "Can Harry and Ginny stay?"

"Of course they can." Draco replied with a smile. "Potter and I can go and get the food while Ginny can show you where the bedroom is."

"That sounds like a plan." Harry said, looking forward to his meal. "Come on Malfoy, grab your jacket and we can go."

"Aren't you going to ask what we want?" Hermione asked as Malfoy grabbed a jacket and picked up his wallet that was lying on a table in the hallway.

"Chicken Chow Mein with a side portion of chicken balls in batter." Draco responded, causing Hermione to look at him in shock as he repeated her favourite meal from a Chinese.

"See, they know what they're doing." Ginny told Hermione. The four of them had dinner together often enough for the men to know what both she and Hermione liked to eat. "Let them get off and we can get you settled."

Hermione nodded, although she continued to watch as Harry and Malfoy made their way out of the front door, laughing and joking with each other as they did so. Shaking her head at the very odd sight Hermione turned back to Ginny, who had picked up the overnight bag that contained everything she had had at the Potters.

"You'll get used to it." Ginny laughed, leading the way up the stairs. "It was really odd to watch as they started to become friends but now I never think anything of their banter."

"They're always like that?" Hermione asked.

"Pretty much." Ginny nodded. "They weren't crazy about each other at first but once Harry realised Draco was serious about you he made an effort to give him a chance. They've since become really good friends."

"Never thought I'd see that day." Hermione muttered as Ginny led her into the bedroom she had awoken in the previous morning.

Stepping in the doorway Hermione took a good look round the room. The walls were a pale cream colour and the thick carpet under her feet was deep blue, Hermione could remember how soft it had felt on her bare feet the previous day. The large bed dominated the room, with its beautiful white and sapphire covers and numerous throw pillows. At the bottom of the bed was a dresser, where Hermione had found her wand the previous morning, and on either side of the bed were matching bedside cabinets. There were also matching chests of drawers on either side of the bed, Hermione was trying her best not to think of what Malfoy had produced from his set. Hermione also spotted the doorway that led into the bathroom and another door on the opposite side of the room that she hadn't spotted the previous day, given there was no wardrobe in the room she figured the door led to some large walk-in wardrobe.

"Are you coming in or just standing there?" Ginny asked. Using magic she had already returned Hermione's things to the rightful place while her friend looked around her lavish bedroom.

Slowly Hermione walked into the room and perched on the end of the bed. No matter how hard she was trying Hermione's mind kept returning to the previous morning when she had woken up in this bed next to Malfoy. Her mind also kept flashing onto the fact they were both naked and she had seen more of the blond Slytherin then she had ever intended when she had foolishly stripped the covers off the bed to cover herself.

"Am I doing the right thing Gin?" Hermione whispered, looking around the unfamiliar room. "Should I have come back so soon?"

"Yes, you're doing the right thing, Hermione." Ginny said, sitting down next to Hermione. "I know you don't remember this right now but this is your life, here with Draco."

"Am I happy?" Hermione asked, turning to look at Ginny.

Ginny smiled widely at her friend before answering. "You're the happiest I've ever seen you. I'm not going to lie and say your relationship with Draco is perfect and you don't argue, because everyone has problems. But even when he's really getting on your nerves and you could happily strangle him, he's still your entire world."

"I sometimes want to strangle him?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at Ginny.

"Of course you do, he's Draco Malfoy." Ginny laughed. "He may have changed but he can still be an annoying, arrogant prat who knows exactly how to get under your skin."

"But I love him." Hermione said. Everything she had learnt pointed her in that direction and she was finding it harder to fight against, whilst she didn't remember loving Malfoy it was increasingly clear that she had loved him a lot, before someone had stolen that from her.

"Yes you do, very much. And he loves you." Ginny said. "If you just give him a chance he'll show you how much."

Hermione nodded and excused herself to use the bathroom. In the bathroom Hermione could immediately see the difference between now and the previous day. Most of the male toiletries had gone and there was one lonely toothbrush sitting in the holder. Finishing in the bathroom Hermione returned to the bedroom where Ginny informed her the boys were back with food.

Ginny took Hermione back downstairs and this time led her into a room that Hermione immediately fell in love with. This room was clearly the main living room, it was loads bigger than the floo room and her personality was etched in every corner of the room. The room was large and welcoming with comfortable looking furniture, a large television sat in the corner of the room and Hermione spotted a shelf beside it with an extensive DVD collection. A large fireplace dominated the far wall and Hermione noticed the entire wall behind it was covered with pictures, ranging from childhood, right through school and after. She also noticed the pictures weren't all hers, there were several of Malfoy as a small child as well.

Turning away from the wall Hermione turned her attention to the centre of the room where Harry and Malfoy had set the meal up around the coffee table. They were both sitting on the floor already and Ginny had joined them. Hermione was shocked by how informal it all was as she took her place with Harry and Malfoy at either side of her and Ginny sitting opposite her. Hermione herself liked how informal the gathering was but she was surprised by how at ease Malfoy seemed at the arrangement, she really couldn't picture the Malfoy she remembered being happy to sit on the floor as he ate.

For most of the meal Hermione sat back as she watched the other three people in the room talk and laugh together. She was trying to get a picture of what her life was like and from the sounds of things gatherings like these with Harry and Ginny were pretty regular. It was also clear from the way Harry and Malfoy were talking that they weren't averse to going out together without either her or Ginny. Hermione also discovered that sometime recently the four of them had gone to Prague for the weekend.

After a while of harmless banter and story telling the conversation turned serious as they focused back in on Hermione's amnesia. Harry was busy asking Draco about the finer points of the potion when Hermione had a question pop into her head. She waited until the men had finished speaking before she asked if she could ask a question.

"Why did you invent this potion?" Hermione asked Draco. "I know you said it helped people with the effect of the war but there had to be a motivation behind it."

"There is." Draco nodded, suddenly looking lost in thought. "My mother is the reason I invented the potion. I couldn't bear to see her suffer any longer."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry." Hermione felt guilty as she noticed how painful it seemed to be for Malfoy to discuss the potion. "You don't have to tell me."

"It's fine. You already know anyway, well you did know." Draco responded. "Can you remember anything about my trial after the war and what was revealed during it?"

"Not a lot." Hermione admitted. She felt guilty that she hadn't paid more attention but at the time she had been too busy dealing with the after effects of the war herself to worry about someone she didn't like. "I can remember that they found you not guilty, mainly because of the emotional blackmail Voldemort subjected you to regarding your mother's life."

"I think another reason was the torture I endured at his hands. It was touched on during the trial but not all of the details were made public knowledge." Draco said. "After I failed to kill Dumbledore I was locked in the cellar of the Manor for weeks. He would visit me daily and torture me, both physically and mentally. One day he brought my mother down into the cellar and forced her to watch him Crucio me. He then put her under the Imperious curse and forced her to torture me herself."

"Oh god." Hermione clasped a hand over her mouth as tears began to fall, she'd had no idea how much Malfoy had suffered.

Looking around she spotted Ginny was struggling not to cry while Harry looked choked up himself. She was pretty sure they both already knew the story but she had a feeling even if you had heard it before it would still affect you. Turning back to Malfoy she noticed the tears glistening in his eyes, although they didn't look as though they were going to fall.

"After that she suffered from terrible nightmares. Every time she shut her eyes she relived that night. I was worried it was becoming too much for her to cope with as with every passing day she was withdrawing further into herself and barely eating and talking to anyone." Draco's pain and anguish was evident in his voice and Hermione could tell the incident with his mother had clearly affected him deeply. "I felt guilty that I was the reason she was suffering so I started to try and find a way to help her."

"You weren't the reason." Hermione interrupted Draco. "Voldemort did that, not you. You were as much a victim as your mother."

Draco couldn't help but smile at Hermione's words, they were practically identical to what she had told him the first time he had told her the story behind the potion that launched his business.

"Anyway I hit upon the idea of removing the memory practically straight away but I was worried that Mother was too fragile to withstand an obliviate charm so I began looking into other solutions. It took me nearly a year but I managed to invent a potion that supressed particular memories."

"Did you tell your mother what you were doing?" Hermione asked.

"Not while I was doing it." Draco shook his head. "Once it was finished and had been properly tested I sat her and father down and explained what I had done and why. Mother agreed to take the potion and without that awful memory in her head she started to return to the woman she normally is."

"Is she still taking it?" Hermione asked.

"Yes." Draco nodded. "I make her an extra strong dose specially and father makes sure she gets it once a month. Now she's perfectly happy and has no memory of ever being forced to torture me."

"Does she know she takes the potion?" Hermione questioned.

"Yes, she knows." Draco nodded. "But she doesn't know the content of the memory she's supressing. She knows the memory is something that happened during the war but with the awful things she can still remember she knows it must be bad so she's happy to keep taking the potion."

"But you have the memory, have you ever been tempted to get rid of it yourself?" Hermione asked.

"I've been tempted but I've never actually done it." Draco said. "As much as I hate the memory I can live with it, mother couldn't and that's why I invented the potion for her."

Hermione was incredibly touched by Malfoy's reasons for making the potion, she was only just realising that there was a lot she didn't know about him. The previous day she had jumped to conclusions based on the boy she knew at school, maybe now she should get to know the man he had become before making any more judgements about his character.

Draco's talk about the potion put a solemn tinge to the atmosphere and for the next hour the conversation was much more serious. Although Hermione did discover that Harry seemed to have shared his own war stories with Malfoy as both men seemed to know what the other had gone through. During the war they may have appeared to be on opposite sides but both had suffered and both seemed to understand the sacrifices the other had made to do what was best for them and in Malfoy's case, what was best for his family.

Once Harry and Ginny finally departed, after making sure Hermione was happy for them to go, an exhausted Hermione said goodnight and headed off to the bedroom. After getting washed Hermione couldn't be bothered to even look for some nightwear so she just stripped down to her underwear and climbed into the large bed, falling asleep seconds after her head hit the pillow.


	9. First Explorations

When Hermione woke up she found she had shifted position in the night. Instead of being curled up on the side of the bed she had fallen asleep on she was lying on the other side of the bed, hugging a pillow. Hermione could vaguely smell a musky, woody scent on the pillow, a scent she had smelt on Malfoy the previous day. While Hermione still found it odd to think about the fact she lived with Malfoy she couldn't help but notice that the smell on the pillow was oddly comforting.

Hermione lay in the bed for several minutes before she finally got up. Looking around the room Hermione spotted a silk dressing gown hanging on the back of the bedroom door. Grabbing the gown she pulled it on before heading into the bathroom. Once she finished in the bathroom Hermione returned to the bedroom in search of clothes.

From her experience on the morning she first woke without her memories, Hermione figured that the set of drawers on the side of the bed she had been sleeping on belonged to her. Malfoy had used the other set and she didn't really think they would share a set of drawers. The set had three drawers and Hermione started her explorations by opening the top drawer.

The top drawer held Hermione's underwear and she wasn't surprised to find the contents were perfectly tidy and organised. What she was surprised with however was the fact that everything in the drawer looked to be a matching set and most of them looked far more provocative than something she would dream of wearing. Searching through the drawer for something relatively modest Hermione took a good look at the underwear she owned. The colours ranged from modest white and cream to daring black and deep red, with practically every colour under the sun in between. Although Hermione decided there looked to be some sort of penchant for the colour green, it was by far the most dominant colour in the drawer. Hermione also found that some of the underwear was plain while some had patterns and polka dots on them. She also found that everything she owned was either silk, satin or lacy, she didn't seem to own any plain cotton underwear. Eventually settling on a purple polka dot set of underwear, which looked a lot more modest than some of the other sets, Hermione pulled them on and continued her searching of the drawers.

The second drawer contained pairs of socks neatly sorted into piles, taking up about half of the drawer space. Hermione found little ankle socks, normal patterned socks and her personal favourite big, fluffy socks for the winter. The second half of the drawer looked to contain Hermione's nightwear, although she was disappointed to note that everything looked quite skimpy and there was no sign of any big winter pyjamas. A quick flick through the pile revealed several slinky chemises and a couple of pairs of shorts and strappy tops, the only long pair of bottoms Hermione found were silky and came with a tiny top. Wondering what she wore for bed in the winter when it was cold Hermione shut the second drawer and opened the bottom drawer.

The bottom drawer held very little and at first Hermione thought it was holding more underwear. It was only when she picked up a barely there black lace number that she realised it did hold underwear, just not the type you wore under your clothes. A quick glance in the rest of the drawer revealed to Hermione that this was where she kept lingerie meant for the bedroom. Blushing profusely at the thought of wearing some of the skimpy outfits in the drawer Hermione hurriedly closed it and made her way over to what she thought was the wardrobe.

Opening the door Hermione realised her assumptions were right, she was looking at a very large walk-in wardrobe. Entering the wardrobe Hermione spotted the space was divided into two, one half was full of women's clothes while the other was full of men's. Hermione noticed plenty of gaps on Malfoy's side of the wardrobe, clearly he had taken enough clothes so he wouldn't have to disturb her for a while. While her attention was over that side of the wardrobe Hermione couldn't help having a nose about. Despite the many gaps there was still a lot of clothes in the wardrobe and quite a few of them were muggle style, Hermione wasn't as surprised as she would have been normally considering the fact Malfoy had been wearing jeans the day her memories first disappeared.

Turning to her side of the wardrobe Hermione was surprised by the vast amounts of clothing she owned. Everything was neatly organised so all the dresses were together as were the bottoms and tops. Flicking through the clothes Hermione realised she had an outfit for every occasions imaginable, some of the dresses were designer label and clearly meant for sophisticated evenings out while she had an extensive range of clothes that looked like business wear and plenty of more causal outfits. Like in her underwear drawer Hermione noticed clothes of practically every colour imaginable and like with her underwear there seemed to be some sort of obsession with green.

"Why green?" Hermione asked herself as she grabbed a pair of jeans and pulled them on. Looking for a top that wasn't green Hermione pulled a sapphire jumper from a hanger and pulled it on over her head.

Turning to leave the wardrobe a flash of green near the back of the wardrobe caught her eye. Turning back round Hermione found a stack of Slytherin Quidditch tops, seeing the green and silver design she suddenly had an idea what all the green in her wardrobe was about. Hermione wasn't surprised to see that Malfoy had kept his Quidditch tops from school, she knew both Harry and Ron had done the same. What did surprise her however was what was stacked next to the tops, a complete Quidditch outfit. Hermione was incredibly curious as to why Malfoy had a whole Quidditch outfit, as far as she knew the only time he played it was for fun and she couldn't think of a reason why he would have an entire outfit just for fun.

Shrugging her shoulders Hermione turned back around and was met by another curious sight. On her side of the wardrobe, folded neatly beside a large collection of shoes and boots, was a school uniform. Hermione could remember packing her uniforms away in her trunk once she graduated so she had no idea what one was doing in her wardrobe. Although even more bizarrely was the Slytherin tie that rested over the top of her skirt and blouse. Totally bewildered by both the school uniform and Quidditch outfit Hermione turned and left the wardrobe.

Putting the bizarreness of what she had found in the wardrobe to the back of her mind Hermione took a deep breath before making her way out of the bedroom. Heading to the stairs Hermione spotted another four doors on the landing, she figured one was the guest room and one was probably a bathroom but she wondered what the other two were. Deciding to explore the house properly later that day Hermione headed down the stairs. It was only when she arrived in the hallway that she realised she had no clue where the kitchen was, the only rooms she had seen were the front room and the floo room.

"Are you alright?"

Hermione jumped at the presence of a voice behind her, turning round she found Malfoy standing in a doorway she hadn't noticed before.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Draco apologised.

"Its fine I just didn't realise you were there." Hermione replied, heading in the blond's direction.

When she reached Malfoy, Hermione spotted the kitchen behind him. Continuing to look around the back part of the hallway she spotted two more doors in this part of the house.

"Do you want some breakfast?" Draco asked, disappearing into the kitchen.

Hermione murmured a positive answer as she followed him into the large kitchen. The kitchen was light and airy with pale yellow walls. Hermione knew immediately she spent a lot of time in the kitchen, she loved to cook and the kitchen she was in was perfect for cooking and baking. Looking around Hermione spotted a large window, looking out onto a large lawn with a patio and garden furniture. In front of the window was a table, which was set for breakfast.

Hermione made her way over to the table and sat down. A jug of apple juice and a pot of coffee were sitting on the table. Pouring herself a glass of juice Hermione turned to watch Malfoy as he bustled about the kitchen. For someone who grew up with house elves to cater for his every whim he was remarkably at ease doing things for himself, although Hermione was already beginning to see that the man she lived with was a very different person to the boy she had known.

When Malfoy turned round Hermione blushed to be caught staring but he didn't say anything as he deposited her breakfast onto the table. Hermione was surprised to see he had made her favourite breakfast, pancakes with fresh fruit and syrup. Thanking him Hermione began to eat as he sat back down at the table and finished his own breakfast of cereal and coffee.

"I've got to go into work, but I was thinking I could go into the office on a morning and work from home on an afternoon." Draco said. "That way I'm here if you need me, but if you want time alone I can stay in the study."

"That's fine." Hermione nodded. She knew she would have to get used to having Malfoy around and she liked the idea of him being around but she didn't necessarily have to see him, maybe then they could build up to spending some time together. "Should I go into work?" She asked. "The Healer said to keep up my routine as much as possible."

"Actually at the minute you're not really at the shop a lot." Draco said. "A few months ago you agreed to write a book to help muggleborns settle into the wizarding world and cope with their first few weeks of school. You've been working at home most days and only checking on the shop a couple of times a week."

"Who looks after the shop?" Hermione asked, surprised by the news she was writing a book. She'd always thought about writing a book but she wasn't sure if she would ever have had the nerve to do it, she was terrified that everyone would hate it and tell her she had wasted her time.

"Luna. She started off helping you out part time a few years ago but these days she's the manager." Draco replied. "Maybe you can go and see her and the shop later on in the week."

"I will." Hermione said. She really wanted to see what sort of shop she had created but she knew it might be best if she had some sort of grasp on her life before she appeared in public.

"Anyway all your work for your book is in the library, that's the room just opposite the kitchen. I'm pretty sure even with no memory you can still work on the book, your notes are pretty in depth and you do still have the memories of what it was like to be a muggleborn suddenly thrust into the wizarding world with barely any explanation on what was going on. I'm sure that's all you need to write down ways to help people adjust easier than you did."

Hermione looked at Malfoy in shock, he seemed to know a lot about the confusion she had felt when she first found out she was a witch. Obviously she had discussed it with him but she was shocked she had revealed so much, she hadn't even spoken to Ron about how hard it was for her to adjust to wizarding life. Ron had just assumed she had taken to being a witch naturally, he had never realised how hard it was for her and how much she had struggled to get used to all the different elements of being a witch, Malfoy meanwhile seemed to know all about how hard it had been for her.

"I've got to go now." Draco said, standing up. "I know I said I'd be working from home on an afternoon but I don't know if I can manage that today, I will try and be home relatively early though."

"It's fine, there's no rush." Hermione replied. "I actually want to explore the house and try and get some sort of feel for the place."

"I hope it works. See you later." Draco said, before leaning down and unthinkingly pressing a quick kiss to Hermione's cheek.

Hermione stiffened slightly as she was hit with the familiar scent of Malfoy's aftershave as he bent over her. When his lips pressed against her cheek Hermione couldn't help but blush at the contact, nor could she ignore feeling of butterflies in her stomach.

"Sorry, I didn't think." Draco quickly pulled away as he realised what he had done. The morning had actually ran a lot smoother than he had expected and he was worried he might have done something to drive Hermione away again.

"It's fine." Hermione brushed off Draco's concerns as she gathered the plates and took them to the sink.

"I'll be going then. I've left my work address by the fire in case you need me for anything." Draco said, relieved that Hermione hadn't reacted badly to his slip up.

"Bye." Hermione turned round and smiled at Malfoy, wanting him to know she wasn't mad that he had kissed her. "I'll see you tonight."

Hermione watched as Malfoy left the room before she returned to the dishes. Once she had heard the floo network sound Hermione dried her hands and set off to explore the house, starting with the library.


	10. Photographs

The loud rumbling of her stomach alerted Hermione to the fact it was lunch time and she had yet to do any proper exploring of her surroundings. After Malfoy had left Hermione had headed straight for the library, where she had been ever since.

The library was a medium sized room with large windows, overlooking the same garden as the kitchen. Apart from the wall with the windows, bookshelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling, each one packed with books. Hermione found an extensive range of books in the library, ranging from factual to fiction and also both muggle and wizarding literature. Some of the titles Hermione knew held no interest for her, meaning they belonged to Malfoy. In amongst some of the books she figured were Malfoy's were a surprising amount of muggle books, his acceptance for muggles had clearly filtered into his reading habits as well as his dress sense.

In the room Hermione had also spotted a large table which held several books, notebooks and even a laptop. Hermione figured it was the research for her book that Malfoy had mentioned so she decided to have a quick peek. A quick peek however turned into hours of exploring and even a bit of writing as she got totally absorbed in the work. The idea was a brilliant one and Hermione was pleased that she would be making it easier for future muggleborns to adapt to entering the wizarding world.

Saving the document she was typing Hermione tidied the table a bit before she left the library. She had only meant to have a quick look in the library and then get on with exploring the rest of the house but time had gotten away from her. Figuring she would explore all afternoon Hermione headed into the kitchen where she began making herself a quick lunch. Making herself a small chicken salad, Hermione brewed some coffee and settled down at the table she had used for breakfast.

As she ate, Hermione considered what had happened to her and wondered who had done it. The worrying thing was that it seemed to be someone she knew and probably trusted. No matter how much she thought about it Hermione just couldn't understand the logic behind feeding her the potion, sure her memories were lost for a few weeks but they would come back. What on earth did anyone hope to achieve by making her temporarily lose her memory? If it was to get her away from Malfoy, what did the perpetrator think would happen when her memories returned? Surely she would just go back to him when her memories returned.

The fact that the memory loss was only temporary had actually dictated how she had handled the situation. When Hermione was unsure if her memories would ever return she would never have considered returning home with Malfoy. It didn't take long to work out he had changed but with no memories and no guarantee of them returning she didn't think she would want to be alone with him and get to know him, but with only temporary loss it was different. Hermione knew that in a few weeks this ordeal would all be behind them and when her memories returned she didn't want to deal with any guilt for refusing to come home, she already suspected she would feel bad for the way she had initially freaked out when she first saw Malfoy.

By the time Hermione finished eating she was still none the wiser over who could have been behind her memory loss. Deciding to forget about it and leave the detective work for Harry, Hermione washed her dishes before heading upstairs. She needed the bathroom so figured that she would start at the top of the house and work her way down. Hermione used the en-suite bathroom in the main bedroom before heading out onto the landing and trying the first door.

The first room was the second bathroom, while the room wasn't anywhere near as big and luxurious as the en-suite one it was still a nice, spacious room. The second room was the spare room and as she looked at the belongings scattered around she hurriedly left, feeling slightly guilty for kicking Malfoy out of his own bedroom. The third room looked to be some kind of office, Hermione was guessing it was Malfoy's study that he had mentioned earlier. Not wanting to pry Hermione shut the door and turned to the last room.

The last room was the smallest of the lot and looked to be used for storage. There were several boxes littered about the room and in the far corner Hermione spotted two school trunks. Suddenly curious as to the outfit she had found in the wardrobe Hermione headed for the trunks, wondering if her uniforms were still there. Hermione sat down on the floor and opened the top trunk, realising too late that the trunk wasn't hers.

Hermione couldn't help but smile at the neatness inside the trunk, it seemed Malfoy was just as much of a perfectionist as her when it came to things having a rightful place. Shutting the lid she moved Malfoy's trunk off to the side and opened her own up. A quick scan of the trunk revealed that her uniforms were all still in place, but she couldn't quite remember how many she had so there was a possibility that one had somehow ended up in the wardrobe.

Replacing the trunks back in the corner Hermione stood up and made her way back downstairs. Heading to the back of the house she tried the door that stood in-between the kitchen and library. Entering the room Hermione found herself in a large dining room. Walking around the table Hermione headed for the glass doors that dominated the back wall. A few seconds later Hermione had exited the house and was standing in the gorgeous back garden.

There was a tall fence running around the entire garden, meaning the entire place had plenty of privacy. The lawn was a pretty big with freshly cut grass and around the outskirts of the lawn was a small smattering of flowers. At the bottom of the garden stood a sturdy tree and Hermione could see the possibilities for tree houses and swings for any future children to play on. The top portion of the garden was a patio with a table and chairs placed on it and a barbeque standing in the corner.

As Hermione stood looking at the garden she could easily picture the hours she could happily spend outside. Hermione loved taking a book and a cold drink and relaxing in the sun and she could definitely picture herself doing that in this garden. She could also easily picture her and Ginny sitting at the table with cocktails, having a good gossip. Hermione stayed in the garden for nearly ten minutes, admiring the view, before she started to get chilly.

Once back inside Hermione headed for the place that was always going to be her final destination in the tour of the house, the front room. Or more accurately the wall that was covered with pictures. Hermione had realised the previous night that the wall could tell her a lot about her life and really show her if she was as happy as Ginny said she was.

Ignoring the rest of the room Hermione walked over to the wall, wondering where to start. Hermione quickly realised the pictures were just strewn about anywhere, there was no order to them. Normally Hermione would complain about the lack of order, she liked everything to be organised and from what she had seen so did Malfoy, but she thought the pictures displayed the way they were was perfect. The display was a perfect mix of photos from both their pasts combined with pictures of their relationship. Since the display was in no particular order Hermione just let her eyes wander across the wall.

The first picture Hermione focused on was a picture of her, Harry and Ron taken in their first year at Hogwarts. Hermione watched as the three first years giggled together and waved to the camera. Searching the wall Hermione found several more pictures of her with her friends, including a one of her and Ginny the day they left Hogwarts. In her mind that day was only a few months ago but one look at the two teenagers in the picture told the reality of the time that had passed by.

While there was plenty of pictures of Hermione throughout her school days she could only find a handful of Malfoy taken in those years. There was a one of him looking very small and slightly nervous, Hermione suspected it was his first day of school but she knew it had to have been taken during the first two years as his hair was slicked back with gel. She also found a picture of him with Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and Pansy Parkinson that she suspected was taken either third of fourth year. The last picture of his school days she could find was a candid shot of him with Blaise Zabini and Theo Nott, the picture looked to have been taken in fifth year but it was the fact he looked genuinely happy that struck Hermione the most. In his other school pictures he either wasn't smiling or was smirking in that annoying way he had.

Moving on from schooldays Hermione sought out the unmoving pictures from her childhood. The pictures that weren't moving were the easiest to find and Hermione spent a long time looking at the pictures that included her parents. Hermione realised she had been so busy adjusting to life she had barely thought about her parents and if her search for them had ever been successful. Vowing to ask Malfoy when he returned home Hermione looked at a few more pictures of her mum and dad before seeking out the pictures of Malfoy as a child.

As she looked at the pictures of a young Malfoy, Hermione couldn't help smiling. He was an absolutely gorgeous baby and in all his younger pictures he looked so happy and carefree. Hermione did however notice that while Narcissa featured quite heavily in the pictures Lucius only made an appearance a couple of times. Hermione dawdled over the pictures of Malfoy for a while before she had the courage to try and find some of them together.

The first picture she found had been taken at Harry and Ginny's wedding, it was a picture of her and Malfoy with the bride and groom. The four of them were standing together, all smiling widely. Within a couple of minutes Hermione had found several other pictures of them with Harry and Ginny, in every picture they were always happy and laughing and clearly enjoying themselves.

Hermione then found a picture with Malfoy's parents, Lucius didn't exactly look happy but Hermione noticed that Narcissa was smiling happily and had her arm wrapped around Hermione's shoulders. From the looks of the picture Malfoy's mother seemed to have no problems with her and they looked to get along just fine. Again it was something she would have to ask Malfoy about.

Moving on Hermione found the first of the pictures she was both dreading and anxious to see, the ones of her and Malfoy alone. The first picture was one of those that wasn't posed for, her and Malfoy were sitting side by side on some grass when he whispered something to her that caused her to throw her head back and laugh. Hermione looked at the picture for a long time, seeing proof of how happy she was with Malfoy was extremely odd. Several more pictures all confirmed the same thing, in every picture they looked really happy together.

After seeing several pictures of her and Malfoy either laughing or smiling together Hermione was surprised to find one where they weren't doing either. Like the first picture it wasn't posed for. The photo was of her and Malfoy standing holding hands as they looked at each other, Malfoy then leant down and kissed her. Hermione wasn't totally surprised to find a picture of them kissing but she was surprised by the way she responded to the kiss, while Malfoy had just brushed his lips over hers she had wrapped her arms around his neck and dragged him back for more.

Slightly taken aback by the passion in the photo Hermione continued to scan the wall, until she saw something that took her breath away. Hermione was looking at a picture of her parents, only it wasn't an old picture, it was a recent one as her and Malfoy were also in the picture. Hermione stared at the picture, hardly able to believe she had found her parents.

Ten minutes later Hermione was still looking at the picture when Draco arrived home. She had been so absorbed in her memories of her parents that she didn't even know the blond was home until he came up behind her and gently put a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright, Hermione?" Draco asked in concern.

"I'm fine." Hermione turned and smiled up at the blond. "I've just been looking around and I found this." Hermione pointed to the picture of her parents and Draco immediately understood why she was so distracted.

"Do you want to see them?" Draco asked. "I was planning on paying them a visit to let them know what's happened, I didn't want them to turn up unexpectedly and give you a shock."

"You get on with them?" Hermione asked in surprise. Her parents hadn't really been keen on Ron, and that was just when he was her friend. She'd actually dreaded telling them she was dating him as her father especially wasn't happy with the prospect of her getting romantically involved with a wizard, he figured if she did then she would have even less to do with the muggle world.

"Yeah, we get on great. Both of your parents are really nice." Draco said. "So do you want to see them?"

"Yes." Hermione nodded. "But not tonight. I'm still trying to come to terms with everything that's happening and now I've just found out my parents are back in my life, it's a lot to take in."

"I wasn't actually thinking tonight." Draco replied. "Before I came home Potter called in and asked if we wanted to go to his for dinner. Maybe you could go there early and spend a bit of time with Ginny while I visit your parents. I could ask them to come round for dinner tomorrow night."

"I like that plan." Hermione said. "Although I would need to change before we go anywhere."

"So do I." Draco smiled. "We can go and get ready and meet back here in an hour."

"An hour?" Hermione questioned the length of time. "Who needs an hour to change?"

"Me." Draco responded with a smirk. "I'm sure you can find a way to fill your time, have a bath or something."

Hermione's eyes lit up at the thought of a bath. She loved to soak in the bubbles and relax, but an hour didn't really give her time for a decent bath and to get changed.

"Okay I'll have a bath." Hermione announced as they walked out of the room together and headed for the stairs. "But I want a decent one so we'll meet in an hour and a half."

"Whatever you want." Draco chuckled. "I'll owl Potter and let them know we're coming."

* * *

**A/N - Thank you all so much for the positive feedback. A few people have asked about Ron and when Hermione finds out what happened with their relationship. Ron will be back in a couple of chapters time and their relationship will be discussed further. Before that though Hermione gets to find out more about Draco and is reunited with her parents. **


	11. Shopping Trip

Draco checked the clock on his office wall, wondering if it was too early to call it a day and head home. It was only Hermione's second full day back at home and he wanted to be there for her as much as possible, especially as her parents were coming to dinner that night. From her continued mentioning of them the previous night at the Potters he knew she was both excited to see them and nervous about it at the same time.

Obviously she was excited because in her head she hadn't seen her parents in over two years, when in reality she had seen them on Saturday night. The nerves factored in the equation as for Hermione it would be the first time she had spoken to her parents since she obliviated them just after sixth year. Despite Draco's reassurance that her parents had long since moved on from the incident Hermione was still worried they would hate her for what she had done.

The more Draco thought about Hermione the more he felt the urge to leave the office. Eventually he decided it was time to leave and packed up some work for him to take home with him. Making sure his secretary and the vice-president of the company knew where he was Draco flooed home. Leaving his jacket and briefcase in the floo room Draco set off to find Hermione, wondering if she had already had her lunch, if not maybe they could eat together.

Draco found Hermione in the library, her head buried in the research for her book. Over breakfast that morning she mentioned she had worked on her book the previous day and was planning on trying to do a bit work every day. Instead of immediately making his presence known Draco leant against the doorway and watched Hermione. When she was absorbed in her work like this it was easy for him to forget all the problems they were currently experiencing and just enjoy watching her so settled and not constantly looking confused or puzzled. Hermione's constant confusion was one of the things Draco found the hardest to witness, he knew how frustrating it would be for Hermione to not instantly know what people were talking about and it hurt him to see the desperation on Hermione's face as she wished she could remember. Draco continued to watch Hermione for another few minutes before he made his presence known.

"You're back early." Hermione said, looking up at the clock on the wall. "It's barely lunchtime."

"I'm the boss, I can work as little as possible and not get sacked." Draco shrugged.

"I think even bosses have to do more than three hours of work a day." Hermione laughed.

She was already quite at ease around Malfoy and while they had yet to discuss anything about their relationship she was quite happy to talk with him about other things. Hermione thought that a lot of how comfortable she was around him was due to Harry and Ginny. It was hard to view him as the haughty Slytherin from school when he interacted with her friends so easily. It also helped that nearly everything he said or did proved he was a different person to the one she remembered. Hermione was very aware that throughout this whole ordeal he had never pushed her into trying to accept they were together and since she had returned home he had been polite and courteous and given her all the space she could ask for. Hermione knew Malfoy was also hurting with what had happened but despite how hard this all must be on him he had made it clear that she was his number one priority and he would go along with whatever made her happy.

"I've worked hard for seven years, I deserve a rest." Draco said. "Do you want something to eat?"

"I was actually going to work for another half hour or so before I stopped to eat." Hermione replied. "I was also going to wait until you came home to ask about tonight, I checked earlier and I have nothing decent to make dinner for my parents. I really need to go shopping but I have no idea where the nearest shops are or if I even have any money in the house."

"Your muggle bank card will be in your purse, which is in the front hall. And as for shopping I could take you this afternoon." Draco offered, jumping at the chance to spend time with Hermione. "You can work for another half hour or so then we can maybe get some lunch as well while we're out."

Hermione didn't immediately answer, instead she sat for a minute thinking about the idea. Draco wasn't offended by the delay in answering as he knew actually going out together was a big deal for Hermione. So far she seemed to have accepted that her life was now with him but he was very aware that she had avoided dealing with their relationship and how it had happened.

"That's sounds good, thanks." Hermione eventually decided to accept Malfoy's offer as she knew eventually she would have to spend some more time with him and get to know him better. The large smile that broke out over his face at her acceptance only confirmed to Hermione she had made the right decision.

"Excellent." Draco smiled. "I'll leave you to it now, just give me a shout when you're ready to leave."

Leaving Hermione to get back on with her work Draco returned to the floo room and gathered his jacket and briefcase. He then headed upstairs and after changing into something more causal he settled in the study where he made a start on the work he had brought home with him.

**…..**

After Malfoy had left her, Hermione tried to continue her work but she found she couldn't concentrate. Despite the fact they had only planned to grab some lunch and do some food shopping the afternoon felt distinctively like a date. Hermione was surprised to find she wasn't dreading the thought, instead she was filled with anticipation. That afternoon would be her first opportunity to see what Malfoy was really like and to see whether they really fit together as a couple.

After nearly ten minutes of staring mindlessly at her work Hermione packed up and left the library. Heading into the hallway she found her bag and searched through it for her purse. When she looked in her purse she was relieved to find there was some money already there, it had only occurred to her a few minutes ago that her bank card would be no good to her with no memory. Unless Malfoy happened to know her pin number there was no way she could draw money from the bank and Hermione knew she wasn't the sort of person to keep her pin number written down somewhere, the second she got it she would have memorised it.

Once she was satisfied she had some money for the afternoon Hermione headed upstairs to get ready. On the way to the bedroom she poked her head into Malfoy's study and they agreed to meet in the hallway in ten minutes. After changing her top and pulling on a pair of boots Hermione headed back downstairs where she found Malfoy waiting for her, his jacket already on. Grabbing her own jacket and her bag Hermione followed Malfoy out of the front door, stopping in surprise at what she saw.

Looking around Hermione was amazed to find they lived in a muggle street, technically it looked to be a cul-de-sac. The street was lined with cars and there was a large piece of lawn in the middle of the cul-de-sac with a few swings and a slide on it as well as several benches. Despite the fact it was October and quite chilly Hermione still spotted a few small children playing on the equipment.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked, turning back to Hermione. He had already descended the steps leading from the house and was out of the gate before he realised Hermione wasn't with him.

"Yeah, I just didn't expect to find we lived in a muggle neighbourhood." Hermione replied, finally moving off the doorstep and joining Draco in the street.

"It suits us." Draco shrugged. "Besides it's easier for your parents to visit and the house was easy enough to adapt magic into it."

Hermione was still taking in the fact that they lived amongst muggles when Malfoy shocked her even further by pulling a set of keys from his pocket and unlocking a car sitting in front of the house. While Hermione had noted the cars in the street she hadn't even thought to associate the sleek, dark blue sports car sitting in front of their house with the blond Slytherin.

"You drive?" Hermione questioned, a bit hesitant to get into a car with Malfoy.

"Yeah, I passed my test nearly three years ago." Draco responded, moving to get into the car. "Are you getting in?" He asked, leaning over and opening the passenger door for Hermione.

Hermione hesitantly got into the car and quickly fastened her seat belt. "Are you sure you really passed your test? You didn't just confound the instructor did you?"

"Of course not." Draco laughed as he started the car. "You wouldn't let me. Every time I had a lesson and when I took my test you confiscated my wand."

Hermione couldn't help but smile, confiscating someone's wand so they wouldn't do magic in the muggle world was definitely something she would do. Although she was slightly worried that she had felt the need to take Malfoy's wand when he was learning to drive, clearly she thought there was a chance he would use it. Luckily it seemed that he had managed to learn how to drive just fine without having to use magic.

The rest of the journey passed in comfortable silence and ten minutes after leaving the house Draco pulled into a large car park in front of an asda store.

"Do you want to eat or shop first?" Draco asked as they got out of the car.

"How about we eat first." Hermione replied. "But is there anywhere round here to eat?"

"There's a bar around the corner, they do lovely food." Draco said, locking the car.

Hermione nodded and followed Malfoy out of the car park. Together they walked to the bar and had lunch. Hermione was still surprised by how at ease she was around Malfoy and found that over lunch he was incredibly easy to talk to. While they steered clear of the topic of their relationship and what had recently happened to her she discovered they shared a passion for literature and they spent the majority of the meal discussing books and debating how good they were. When it was time to pay Malfoy insisted on paying, despite Hermione's protests.

"I was thinking of making a roast beef dinner tonight." Hermione said as they made their way back towards the supermarket. "Is that all right with you?"

"It sounds great." Draco said with a smile. He knew Hermione didn't remember it but one of his favourite meals was roast beef dinner.

"Good, I didn't want to make anything you didn't like." Hermione said as they arrived back at asda.

"I don't think that's possible." Draco chuckled, grabbing a trolley and following Hermione into the supermarket. "Everything you make is great."

Hermione blushed at the compliment and hurriedly changed the subject to what ingredients she would need. For a while they shopped in silence, Hermione searching for what she wanted and dropping it into the trolley Draco was pushing. The whole thing was slightly surreal for Hermione as she just couldn't get used to the fact that Malfoy was quite happily shopping in a muggle supermarket. More than once she snuck glances at him, she half expected to find him looking around in distaste but she never did.

"Are you going to tell me why you keep staring at me or do I have to guess?" Draco suddenly asked when Hermione continued to keep looking at him.

"Sorry." Hermione blushed at being caught. "It's just odd, seeing you so comfortable around muggles."

"It wasn't always this way." Draco said with a shrug. "It took me quite a while to adjust to living half in the muggle world and half in the wizarding world, but I actually like it."

"Why did you do it?" Hermione asked. "What made you learn to adapt to the muggle world?"

"You." Draco replied, looking at Hermione intently.

"Me?" Hermione questioned, trying not to be too affected by Malfoy's piercing look. "What do I have to do with anything?"

"Everything." Draco smiled. "When we first started going out you made it clear that while you might be an accomplished witch, your roots were in the muggle world and you weren't leaving that behind. It was clear that if things ever got serious between us I would have to learn to cope in the muggle world."

"Did you ever consider not trying to adapt?" Hermione asked. "Did you ever consider I wasn't worth all the hassle?"

"It wasn't a hassle." Draco insisted. "And even if it had been, you're worth it."

Once again Hermione blushed at the compliment and ducked her head, causing Draco to chuckle softly. He was so used to his normal, confident fiancée he had forgotten how insecure Hermione had been when they had first started dating. For months after they re-met Hermione would blush furiously and get flustered whenever Draco paid her a compliment, that was until she got used to the blond constantly telling her how amazing she was.

"Come on, let's finish the shopping and go home." Draco said, trying to stop Hermione from being too uncomfortable. "We've got a lot to do before your parents arrive."


	12. Hermione's Parents

Hermione took another look at the dining room table and sighed in frustration. While the dining room was a lovely room, the table was too big for Hermione's liking. Considering there was only going to be four people for dinner she couldn't manage to set the table without everyone either being miles apart or all squashed together on one half of the table.

Glancing at the clock Hermione got more frustrated when she realised her parents would be arriving in less than an hour and she still had stuff to do. Everything in the kitchen was running smoothly but she still had to set the table and get changed. If she'd realised setting the table was going to be so problematic she would have done it earlier, instead she had spent the afternoon in the kitchen.

"Is there a problem?"

Hermione turned at the sound of Malfoy's voice, she still wasn't used to the way he could creep up behind her and she didn't know he was there until he spoke. Hermione's answer stuck in her throat the minute she saw the blond however, and she just ended up gaping at him. Subconsciously she had already recognised that he was attractive but this was the first time she was actually allowing herself to acknowledge the fact that Malfoy was hot. Malfoy was wearing black trousers and a dark blue shirt with the top few buttons open. As she was admiring the view Hermione spotted the chain around his neck and her ring dangling off it and she felt a stab of guilt. She knew it wasn't her fault she had no memories but she did know that she often got so caught up with dealing with everything herself that she forgot Malfoy was suffering as well.

"Hermione." Draco stepped further into the room as he tried to regain Hermione's attention. "Are you alright?"

"Sorry." Hermione said, snapping back to reality. "I was just struggling with the dining table, it's a bit big for four and the table in the kitchen is only big enough for two."

"There's an enchantment on the table." Draco said, getting his wand out and moving into the centre of the room. "If you tap it with your wand, you then tell it what size and style you want."

Demonstrating the point Draco tapped the table and turned it into a four person table. He then showed Hermione a few more things it did by decorating it in different styles.

"Excellent." Hermione smiled and stepped up to the table, adjusting the decorations and place settings to something she was happy with. "I can go and get ready now."

"Is there anything you want me to do?" Draco asked.

"I don't think so, everything's done." Hermione replied.

Satisfied everything was in order Hermione shooed Malfoy off to the front room while she headed off upstairs to change. After a very quick shower and doing her hair Hermione spent nearly ten minutes trying to pick an outfit. A lot of the dresses were too formal for the occasion and almost everything she found that was suitable was green. Eventually deciding to give in to the green, Hermione pulled on a forest green wrap around dress and teamed it with a pair of low heels in the exact same shade of green. She then slipped on a silver heart necklace and matching earrings before making her way back downstairs.

The minute she walked into the front room Hermione couldn't decide if she had made a massive mistake wearing green or if she had done something good. Malfoy's attention immediately turned to her when she entered the room and Hermione couldn't help but notice the way his gaze travelled over every inch of her body. When he looked back up at her and smiled Hermione's breath hitched, love and desire were plainly visible in his expressive grey eyes.

"You look amazing." Draco said, finding his voice.

He honestly hadn't expected Hermione to wear green so he was unprepared for the sight. Normally Hermione knew just how much he liked seeing her wearing Slytherin colours and she would dress accordingly when she deliberately wanted to get him hot under the collar. Obviously she now couldn't remember that so the dress colour didn't mean anything but Draco was still affected by the sight.

"Thank you." Hermione said softly, managing to control her blush slightly.

Draco was unsure of what to say next, but luckily the sound of the doorbell saved him from potentially saying something to freak Hermione out. "I'll go." He said, hurrying past Hermione and rushing to the door.

Hermione turned round and stood in the doorway of the front room, watching carefully as Malfoy opened the door and greeted her parents. It was obvious within seconds her parents both liked him, her mum gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek while her dad shook his hand and clapped him on the shoulder in a friendly manner.

"Hermione, darling." Hermione's mum, Anne, spotted her daughter in the doorway and rushed over to her. "How are you?"

"I'm okay." Hermione replied, hugging her mum. "It's slightly weird but I'm learning to adjust."

"Hopefully you won't have to adjust for long." Hermione's dad, Jack said as he approached his daughter and gave her a hug. "Draco said your memories will be returning soon."

"Yeah, they should be coming back by the end of the weekend." Hermione answered as everyone made their way into the front room.

"I just can't believe someone would do this to you." Anne exclaimed, sitting down on the sofa with Hermione. Jack sat down on one of chairs while Draco offered drinks around.

"Do you have any leads as to who it was?" Jack asked as Draco handed him a glass of whiskey.

"No." Hermione shook her head. "Harry's looking into it, I'm sure he'll find the culprit."

"He better." Draco muttered darkly, handing both Hermione and Anne a glass of wine before taking a seat next to Hermione's dad.

Hermione looked slightly worried by Malfoy's words, it was the first time she had heard him sound like his old self. However his tone of voice and words didn't seem to have bothered her dad as he was agreeing with Malfoy, even adding a few choice words of his own. Hermione sat watching in amazement as her dad and Malfoy discussed what had happened and what they would like to do with whoever had taken her memories.

"I suspect this is all a bit overwhelming for you." Anne said, gaining Hermione's attention.

"Just a bit." Hermione turned to her mum and smiled at her. "I can't really believe how much my life has changed in seven years."

Hermione and Anne briefly spoke about the changes in Hermione's life before Hermione left to check on dinner. When it was ready everyone headed to the dining room where they enjoyed the meal. Throughout dinner Hermione watched the ease in which Malfoy interacted with her parents. It was clear they both thought a lot of him and Hermione was surprised by how much they seemed to know about his life and how much he seemed to know about them. More than once her mum mentioned Malfoy's parents and a couple of times Malfoy mentioned friends and relatives of her parents.

Once the meal was finished and they headed back into the front room Hermione was surprised when Malfoy only stayed a few minutes before getting up.

"I'll go and leave you three to catch up." He announced. "I'll be in the study if you need me."

"You don't have to go." Anne said to Draco. "You know you're part of the family."

"I know." Draco smiled at his future mother-in-law. "But I thought Hermione might like to talk to you both in private."

Hermione was incredibly touched by Malfoy's gesture and she made sure to thank him before he left the room. She also took note of the friendly way he said goodbye to her parents and the way he agreed to keep her dad up to speed on what was happening about finding who had taken her memories.

"You really like him, don't you?" Hermione said, once it was just her and her parents in the room.

"Why wouldn't we?" Jack asked.

"I don't know, maybe because he was horrible to me in school and you've always made it clear you didn't want me to marry a wizard."

"Firstly, he's apologised profusely for the way he used to treat you and he's clearly grown up since then." Jack replied. "I admit I wasn't happy when I realised who he was but he's proven time and time again how much he loves you and how sorry he is for his past behaviour."

"And as for being against you marrying a wizard, we just didn't want you forgetting your roots. We wanted you to be with someone who wouldn't try and change the fact you grew up as a muggle." Anne added, addressing the second point Hermione had brought up.

"But you were so against Ron, and even though we were only friends at the time you kept urging me not to date him." Hermione argued.

"We weren't against Ron as a person, he just wasn't right for you." Anne said. "You need someone who can hold their own against you and not just agree to whatever you say because you're clever."

"What does that have to do with wanting me to keep in touch with my roots? Arthur loves muggles so I'm pretty sure that if my relationship with Ron had worked that I would still visit you and be involved in the muggle world."

"Maybe." Jack shrugged. "But if your relationship with Ron had worked out then we wouldn't be here."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked in confusion. She didn't understand what her relationship with Ron had to do with finding her parents.

"Draco was the one who found us." Anne replied. "Did he not say?"

"No." Hermione shook her head slowly. She couldn't believe that Malfoy had been the one to find her parents. "What happened?"

"When you told him what had happened he hired a team of private investigators to track us down." Jack explained. He'd heard the story from both Hermione and Harry so he knew exactly how much of an effort and expense Draco had gone to in order to find them. "When they did find us he then arranged for specialist Healer's to return our memories and make sure we coped with everything that had happened."

"Did you cope?" Hermione asked, wondering if her parents resented her for what had happened.

"Not at first." Anne admitted. "We were both extremely angry with you but then Draco came and saw us and explained everything."

"He told us what you'd gone through and that you only did what you thought was best. He also mentioned how dangerous the wizarding world was and the danger we actually would have been in if you hadn't hidden us." Jack told his daughter. "Draco was the one who convinced us that you needed us in your life and that we should forgive you and move on."

"And we did." Anne reached out and grabbed hold of Hermione's hand. "We talked everything through as a family and put it all behind us. It's not an issue any more."

"I can't believe he did that." Hermione whispered. Despite seeing constant proof of Malfoy's change of heart and behaviour she was still stunned to hear about something that showed just how much she meant to him.

"He did it because he loves you." Anne said. "I know you don't remember that and I know your memories are hopefully going to return soon but don't push him away until then. He's the best thing that's ever happened to you and he makes you so happy, give him a chance to prove it to you."

"I will." Hermione promised her mum before changing the subject.

For another hour Hermione caught up on what was happening in her parents' lives, all the time thinking about what they had told her about Malfoy. Hermione was still thinking about it when they left so instead of heading to bed she decided to go and talk to Malfoy. Like he said he would be he was in the study and immediately told Hermione to come in.

"Did you have talk with your parents?" Draco asked.

"Yes, thanks for inviting them over." Hermione smiled. "And thank you for finding them in the first place.

Draco's eyes widened at her words. "They told you?"

"Yes, they told me." Hermione nodded. "Why didn't you tell me? You told me how long they've been back in my life but you failed to mention you were the one who made it possible."

"I didn't want it to look like I was trying to win your affection." Draco admitted. "Besides it doesn't matter how your parents are back the important thing is they're in your life again."

"It matters to me how they're back." Hermione said softly. "What you did is probably the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."

"I just wanted you to be happy." Draco shrugged. "It was clear that not knowing what had happened to them was killing you, I just wanted to help you get the answers you deserved. I wasn't even sure if I could find them when I started but I was hoping I would be able to find enough information to stop you wondering what had happened and where they had disappeared to."

"Where had they disappeared to?" Hermione asked. "When Harry, Ron and I went to Australia we could find no sign of them. It was as though they didn't get there."

"They did get there, but they only stayed a few months." Draco said. "A month or so after arriving your father won quite a bit of money on the lottery so they decided to go travelling. That was why you couldn't track them down, they weren't in Australia at the time."

"Dad always did like to travel." Hermione laughed. "He always said that if they ever came into any money he and mum would go travelling the world."

"Well they certainly did that." Draco smiled. "By the time my private investigators caught up with them, back in Australia, they had visited almost every continent and scores of different countries. You should see all the photos and souvenirs they have at their place."

"I can imagine." Hermione laughed as she stood up. She knew for experience that both her parents loved to take plenty of pictures of each new place they visited and her mum always liked to bring something back from wherever they had been.

Once she was standing up Hermione was suddenly unsure of what to say, she'd already thanked Malfoy for finding her parents but she didn't know if he actually understood just how grateful she was. Crossing over to where he was sitting at his desk Hermione bent down and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.

"Thank you." She whispered, pulling back. "Both for finding my parents and for being so supportive throughout all of this."

"It's nothing." Draco said quietly, resisting the urge to lean forward and kiss her properly.

"It's not nothing to me." Hermione said, moving towards the doorway. "To me it means a lot."

Hermione smiled once more at Draco before saying goodnight and disappearing off to the bedroom.


	13. Conversation with the Ex

After seeing her parents the previous night Hermione woke up in a great mood. Despite the fact her memories were still missing she was beginning to realise she had a good life with plenty of people who loved her. Hermione was including Malfoy in the good things about her life as she now knew for certain that the blond Slytherin loved her, she was even beginning to see how she could love him back.

As she was getting dressed Hermione decided it was time she visited her shop. So far it was the only part of her life she hadn't explored and she was keen to see what she had made of her shop. In the memories she still had Hermione had only just bought the place and she was interested to see if the shop had ended up anything like the vision she had in her head.

When Hermione entered the kitchen she found Malfoy already there, making the breakfast. After giving him a cheerful greeting Hermione sat down at the table and poured herself a glass of juice.

"You're in a good mood today." Draco commented as he placed her breakfast in front of her and sat down.

"I am." Hermione smiled widely. "I've decided to visit the shop today and see what it's like."

"That's great." Draco replied. "I'm sure you'll have fun. Do you need any help finding the place?"

"Not unless it's moved." Hermione said and Draco reassured her it was in the same place. "In that case I'll be fine."

"How long are you planning on staying?" Draco asked.

"I don't know, but you know me and books, time just gets away from me."

"Don't I know it." Draco muttered. He was remembering the numerous times Hermione had been late for something because she got distracted by the shop. "If you're going to the shop today I might stay at the office a bit longer today. Is that alright?"

"Of course it is. I don't want you neglecting your business just for me." Hermione said to Draco. She appreciated the fact that he had made an effort to be around for her but she didn't want him to neglect his potions company.

"I've got a great team of people running things these days. I can basically work as much or as little as possible." Draco explained. "I just like to keep an eye on what's going on and make sure everything is running smoothly."

Draco and Hermione talked about his business a bit more as they finished breakfast. When they finished they both made their way to the front hallway and gathered their things before heading to the floo room. Draco flooed to his office first before Hermione flooed to The Leaky Cauldron.

Once in the pub Hermione quickly made her way out of the back and into Diagon Alley. Hermione's shop was right at the far end of the street so she took a slow walk along the street, taking in the changes the last seven years has brought. At the time Hermione bought the shop she always said that Diagon Alley would prosper and had the potential to be great and it looked like her prediction was right. The street was bustling with activity and Hermione spotted several new shops that looked interesting, she even made a mental note to check a few of them out later.

When she arrived in front of her shop Hermione stood and looked at the storefront. The name 'Lioness Books' was written in gold font over the front of the store. On either side of the door were two large windows, each with a display in them. One display was a collection of children's books while the other display was of various spell books. Deciding she liked what she was seeing so far Hermione pushed open the doors and entered the shop. Unlike a lot of bookshops Hermione's shop was light and airy with plenty of space between the shelves and several seats and even a few tables dotted around the place.

"Hermione, I didn't know you were coming in today." Luna suddenly appeared in front of Hermione with a large smile on her face. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." Hermione smiled back at the blonde woman. "I thought it was time I checked the place out."

"I'll give you a tour." Luna said, grabbing Hermione hand and giving her a quick guided tour of the place.

"Has everything being okay?" Hermione asked. After the tour they had made their way back to the front desk and they already had a steady stream of customers.

"The shop's great." Luna replied. "Although Ron has been coming by every day, demanding to know why you're not at work."

"I would have thought that was obvious." Hermione rolled her eyes at her friend's behaviour. Sometimes Ron just didn't think things through logically and it seemed seven years hadn't cured him of the habit.

"Not to Ron. He's been in every day and no doubt he'll be in again today." Luna said. "Actually it's about the time he always comes in so he'll likely be here any minute."

As if on cue the front door swung open and Hermione looked up to find the red head of her best friend approaching. Hermione smiled and gave Ron a hug in greeting.

"It's about time I found you here." Ron grumbled as Hermione stepped out of his embrace. "I thought the Healer said you should continue with your regular routine."

"I was working from home." Hermione replied. "I've been working on my book."

"What book?"

Hermione was quite taken aback that Ron didn't know about her book but she quickly filled him in on the project she was working on. As they talked it was clear that Ron actually had no idea she didn't spend every day in the shop, he was even surprised when Luna told him she ran the shop most days. The more they talked the more Hermione realised that Ron really didn't have a clue about what was happening in Hermione's life, although considering they were exes she wasn't totally surprised by the fact they had drifted apart somewhat.

"Do you want to grab a coffee?" Ron asked. "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."

"You can come round the house anytime." Hermione said after agreeing to the drink.

"I'm not exactly welcome at your place." Ron snorted. "Malfoy's not my biggest fan."

Hermione wasn't really sure how to respond. She knew Ron was most likely right, considering he was her ex-boyfriend she couldn't imagine he would be Malfoy's favourite person. Then again she suspected it ran both ways, Ron was clearly still carrying a torch for her and every interaction she had witnessed between the two men had shown that Ron deeply disliked Malfoy.

Hermione changed the subject and asked Ron about work as they left her shop and headed to a nearby café. Ron was still waxing lyrical about his job when they settled down at a corner table with coffees. Hermione let him talk for several more minutes before asking a question that she had wanted to know the answer to ever since she woke up and discovered she wasn't with Ron anymore.

"What happened between us? Why did we split up?"

"It was my fault." Ron sighed. He decided to be honest with Hermione as a quick chat with anyone else would only reveal what had happened between them. "After you left school and we were seeing each other practically every day I just started to feel hemmed in. The pressure of being in a serious relationship got to me and I started pushing you away."

"How were you pushing me away?" Hermione questioned.

"I kept breaking dates and making excuses not to spend time with you." Ron admitted. "Several times I told you I had to work late, so I could go out drinking with the boys. Basically I wanted to act like a single bloke with no commitments, while at the same time having you waiting for me at home."

"So I left you?" Hermione asked. While she was impressed that Ron was being honest with her about their relationship, she was upset that seeing her every day had been too much for Ron as during her last year of school he would spend hours telling her how much he was looking forward to doing that exact thing.

"Yeah, after about a year you'd had enough and ended things." Ron admitted sheepishly. He still felt bad about how he had treated Hermione, but he felt worse that it had taken her getting involved with Malfoy for him to realise he did actually want her. "I know it's far too late but I'm sorry for the way I treated you."

"It's all in the past." Hermione shrugged.

"Anyway enough about that. What have you been up to the past few days?" Ron decided a quick change of subject was in order as he didn't want Hermione dwelling on the fact he had hurt her in the past.

"I saw my parents yesterday." Hermione said, telling Ron all about how excited she had been to see them.

"I suppose he used the opportunity to brag did he?" Ron snarled. "Bloody Malfoy, showing off again."

"Actually it was my parents who told me about how they're back." Hermione replied. "Draco never mentioned a thing about it. Although even if he had told me he wouldn't have been bragging."

"You don't know him, Hermione. The only reason he found them was to impress you. He probably did it to get you into bed." Ron knew the last statement was false, he knew for a fact that Hermione had slept with Malfoy long before he found her parents, but he was hoping to get Hermione to see Malfoy's true colours.

"Don't be so mean, Ron. You're sounding like a jealous ex." Hermione glared at Ron, not liking the way the conversation was heading. "I may not have my memories but I know enough to know that Draco had no hidden motive behind finding my parents."

"You've just admitted you have no memories, so how do you know that?" Ron retorted. "Everyone thinks he's this good guy who's changed, but I'm telling you he hasn't. He's still the same Malfoy we knew in school."

"No, he's not." Hermione shook her head. A few days was long enough for her to know Malfoy had changed and it was also long enough to realise that Ron had also changed, he was so eaten up with jealously he didn't want to admit he was wrong about Malfoy.

"He's even got you suckered into his charade. I swear mum and I are the only people who can see he's bad for you."

"He's not bad for me, he's really good for me." As Hermione defended Malfoy to Ron she realised she was speaking the truth, he was a lot better for her than the man she was sitting opposite. "I think it's time you accepted that we love each other."

"You don't love him, you don't even remember him." Ron scoffed.

"I may not remember our relationship but I've seen and heard enough to know I love him. And when my memories return I'll still love him and I'll still be with him." Hermione was starting to get annoyed with Ron so she finished her coffee and stood up. "If you can't learn to accept Draco and I are together, then I really don't think we can be friends anymore."

As she turned and left the café Hermione ignored Ron's stuttering protests. Heading back to the shop she had to wonder why she hadn't given him an ultimatum like that before, then again maybe she had and he was just using her amnesia as a way of turning her against Draco. Hermione smiled to herself as she realised she had used Draco's first name, she knew she had done so when she was talking to Ron but it was the first time she had used it when she thought about him. Hermione suspected it would be happening a lot more frequently as the more she got to know him Malfoy was quickly turning into Draco in her head.

"You weren't gone long." Luna greeted when Hermione entered the shop a few minutes later.

"We had a slight disagreement." Hermione huffed.

"Let's guess, he let you know how much he dislikes Draco." Luna said.

"How did you know?" Hermione asked.

"Normally he behaves himself around you but he's not shy at letting the rest of us know how he feels about Draco. I guessed with your memories missing he figured it was a good time to try and get you to hear his opinions."

"Does anyone else share his opinions on Draco?" Hermione was interested in hearing what her other friends thought of her partner. She also knew that Luna was possibly the best person to get an honest answer from as her friend didn't lie to people, in fact she had a tendency to say whatever she was thinking and at times was brutally honest.

"No, we all like him." Luna smiled at Hermione, reassuring her friend Ron was alone in his damnation of Draco. "Mrs Weasley isn't a fan, but I think she always expected you to end up with Ron."

"So did a lot of people, me included." Hermione said softly. While there was a part of her still sad that things hadn't worked out with Ron she knew her relationship with Draco was much more solid than hers and Ron's had ever been.

"Are you staying for the rest of the day?" Sensing Hermione was becoming slightly melancholy Luna decided to change the subject. Hermione had been so happy that morning and she wanted to bring that back.

"Yeah. You can show me the ropes and stuff." Hermione smiled at Luna as the two women settled down for a day's work.

By the end of the day Hermione was back to her happy self, her argument with Ron long forgotten. At home she chatted happily with Draco about her day, she even used his first name a couple of times much to the blond's obvious delight. After dinner Hermione grabbed a book from the library and retired to the bedroom for a long, relaxing soak. Hermione lay in the bubbles for nearly two hours before she got out and headed into the bedroom.

Ever since she had arrived home Hermione had been sleeping in her underwear but considering she planned on curling up with her book she wanted something to wear. Still wrapped in her towel Hermione padded into the wardrobe in search of suitable attire, she had considered a pair of pyjamas but considering the only ones she owned were pretty skimpy she wanted something more comfortable. Hermione searched through various t-shirts and bottoms but found nothing suitable.

As she was about to give up her eyes fell to Draco's side of the wardrobe. Tentatively Hermione picked up a deep green t-shirt, as she moved the material to see how big it was she got a whiff of the smell she associated with Draco and felt an urge to pull it on. Hermione debated over whether to wear the t-shirt for several minutes, eventually deciding that since she wasn't planning on leaving the room that night there was no harm in wearing it. Slipping the shirt over her head Hermione instantly felt comforted by the scent and the feel of being wrapped in the soft material. Hermione then returned the towel to the bathroom and pulled on a pair of knickers before climbing into bed with her book.


	14. Girls Night In

Hermione awoke feeling refreshed, although she did get a major shock when she looked at the clock and discovered it was nearly ten o'clock. Hermione was normally a morning person and by ten o'clock every morning this week she had been either working in the library, or in yesterday's case at her shop.

Stumbling out of bed she quickly visited the bathroom before returning to the bedroom. Because of her late start Hermione was getting hungry and the urge to have breakfast before she dressed was strong, the only thing holding her back was what she was wearing. Somehow she doubted Draco would mind her borrowing his top but that didn't mean she wanted him to see her wearing so little. Hermione took another look at the clock as she debated going to breakfast as she was, Draco always seemed to be off to work by nine so there was no reason to even suspect he was still in the house.

Feeling safe that Draco was at work Hermione headed down to the kitchen. The presence of a bowl, cup and glass in the sink indicated Draco had already had his breakfast, much to Hermione's relief. Humming happily to herself Hermione poured herself a bowl of cereal and opened the fridge in search of the milk. Her head was in the fridge when she suddenly heard footsteps in the kitchen, followed by Draco's voice softly cursing.

Totally mortified Hermione stood up straight, pulling on the hem of the t-shirt to make it longer as she turned round. Hermione's eyes immediately caught Draco's and instead of being their usual light grey they were practically black as he looked at her. His breathing was also ragged and Hermione tried to ignore the way his eyes kept flitting over her body, before returning to her face.

"I thought you would have already gone to work." Hermione said shakily. Draco's staring was beginning to unnerve her and shockingly she was beginning to feel the first stirrings of arousal in the pit of her stomach.

"I didn't want to leave without seeing you." Draco replied, trying very hard to control his voice and keep it from sounding as though he was turned on.

The sight of Hermione in his t-shirt had instantly given Draco a problem. From the first time she did it, seeing Hermione in his clothes was a massive turn on. Draco viewed it as a way of saying she belonged to him, a feeling that was especially strong whenever she wore his old Quidditch top with his name plastered all over the back. Draco had never told Hermione about the ownership thing, she would kill him if she ever thought he was thinking of her in that way. Instead he just told her how sexy it was when she wore his tops, which it definitely was. Draco had shagged Hermione many times wearing just his shirt and the sight in front of him was bringing back lots of memories that he could do without just before he was due to head to work.

"I should be going." Draco finally tore his eyes away from Hermione as he began backing out of the room. "See you later."

Hermione was still frozen to the spot as Draco practically turned and fled from the room. The way Draco had been looking at her had definitely affected her. Ron had never looked at her with such blatant desire and lust, even when she had been naked his looks never contained anywhere near as much potency as the ones Draco had given her that morning. Somewhat shaky, and incredibly turned on, Hermione managed to eat some breakfast before she got dressed and headed into the library to work.

**…..**

Hermione looked over the top of her book, finding Draco totally immersed in his own reading and showing no sign of even knowing she was in the room. Turning her attention back to the pages of the book she was trying to read Hermione wondered if that morning had ruined things between her and Draco. She had thought they had been establishing a solid rapport, the day her parents visited them was a definite breakthrough in her opinion, but know everything was awkward between them.

Hermione had spent the whole morning in the library, both dreading and anticipating Draco's return. When he did return home, nearly two hours later than he had been doing, he quickly poked his head into the library and informed her he would be in the study if she needed him. He hadn't emerged until nearly seven and after a silent dinner they had headed into the front room where they had been sitting in awkward silence for nearly an hour.

Hermione was just contemplating heading for bed when she heard the sound of the floo network activating in the floo room. Seconds later Ginny's cheerful voice called out their names and a minute later her head popped round the doorway.

"I hope you don't mind us popping over." Ginny chirped as Harry followed her into the front room. "I thought we could have a girly night in."

"This may have escaped your notice Ginny, but Potter and I don't really qualify for a girly night in." Draco drawled, putting down his book.

"That's why we're going to the pub." Harry told Draco with a smile. "Everyone's there and I know Blaise and Theo are eager to see you."

While Draco and Harry debated who everyone was as Draco didn't really want to see Ron, Ginny explained to Hermione that the guys often went out on a Friday or Saturday night while the girls had a night in. Ginny did offer to call Luna and Angelina but she also admitted she quite fancied spending the night just the two of them.

"I don't know, Potter." Draco sighed, taking a sidelong glance at Hermione. He figured they needed to clear the air but he had no idea where to start.

"You should go." Hermione said, managing to talk to Draco without actually looking him in the eye.

"Are you sure?" Draco asked hesitantly.

"Yes." Hermione nodded, still not looking at Draco. "Go see your friends and have fun."

"We'll not be late." Draco said, heading off to get his jacket.

As Harry and Draco got ready and left, Ginny settled down on the sofa next to Hermione. She then produced a bottle of wine and a family size bag of maltesers from her bag. Summoning two glasses from the kitchen she poured some into both of them and handed a glass to Hermione.

"Okay, what was going on with you and Draco?" Ginny demanded.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, sipping her wine.

"I mean the fact you could barely look at each other." Ginny said. "Ooh, have you kissed?" She asked, sounding like an excited teenager.

"No, we haven't kissed. But there was an incident this morning." Hermione admitted.

During the course of the day Hermione had repeatedly considered talking to Ginny about the incident as she knew her friend would probably be able to help her. During their last year of school Ginny had constantly confided in Hermione about Harry and their love life and the only reason Hermione hadn't done the same was the fact she was with Ron and it would be weird telling Ginny about what she got up to with her brother. However with Ginny's natural affliction for gossiping she doubted whether she had managed to keep her love life with Draco under wraps, chances were the redhead could help her a great deal with the questions she now had.

"What sort of an incident?" Ginny prompted. Hermione seemed to have mentally gone walkabout and she was eager to find out what was happening.

"Last night when I was looking for something to wear for bed I put on one of Draco's t-shirts. This morning it was late when I woke up and I thought he would have already gone to work."

"And he hadn't." Ginny guessed, chuckling as she saw which direction Hermione's story was heading in.

"No he hadn't." Hermione said, her cheeks flaming as she remembered the heated look Draco had given her that morning. "We bumped into each other in the kitchen and things got awkward. I swear he looked at me as though he wanted to pounce on me right there and then."

"He probably did." Ginny laughed. "If you didn't have your memories missing an incident like that would have normally led to you two shagging on the kitchen table."

"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed in outrage, her blush deepening.

"Sorry but it's true. Wearing Draco's clothes is a sure fire way to drive him crazy." Ginny said. "I know you wear them for comfort when he's away or you go away but you're not opposed to wearing them just to get a bit of action."

"How do you know all this?" Hermione asked. She was right about Ginny knowing things about her love life but she was surprised by how much she knew.

"Some of it is what you've told me and some I've just picked up by listening to you and Draco talking. Plus Draco isn't above making sexual innuendos in public." Ginny explained, chuckling again at Hermione's continued embarrassment. "So apart from this morning has there been any other incidents?" She asked, eager for more gossip.

Hermione's mind immediately flashed onto the first morning she woke up. While for the most part she had been able to ignore the fact she had seen Draco naked, after this morning the image was firmly at the front of her mind.

"Well there was the morning I first woke up and my memories were missing." Hermione said slowly. "First of all I was totally shocked to wake up naked, I never sleep naked and even after Ron and I had been together I put something on."

"Okay, before you continue I have to say, doesn't that tell you something about the difference in relationships?" Ginny interrupted Hermione. "With Ron you felt the need to cover up but with Draco you're happy to be yourself. Plus sleeping naked means it's easier for a morning quickie when you wake up."

"Got experience of that have you?" Hermione laughed, feeling less embarrassed when the focus was on Ginny's love life.

"Of course." Ginny winked as she took a large gulp of wine. "Harry and I often sleep naked. But enough about me, what happened when you woke up and found yourself naked in bed next to a gorgeous Draco Malfoy."

"I freaked out and jumped out of bed." Hermione replied, making a mental note that Ginny thought Draco was gorgeous. "Then I realised I was naked so I pulled the cover off the bed to wrap around myself."

"And got yourself an eyeful." Ginny finished with a laugh. "I bet you were so mortified."

"I was." Hermione nodded. "But I still couldn't help but think how impressive he looked."

"Who wouldn't, you would have to blind not to notice that the man is an Adonis." Ginny chuckled.

"How much of him have you seen?" Hermione asked, tilting her head to the side and studying Ginny. She was suddenly getting the impression that Ginny had seen a lot more of Draco than she should have.

"Quite a bit." Ginny responded, unflustered by the fact she was admitting to seeing her best friend's fiancé in the buff. "Before you moved in here and had a separate room for the floo it just went straight into the front room of your flat. It wouldn't be the first time I've popped round to find you and Draco otherwise engaged."

"Oh my god, that's so embarrassing." Hermione put her head in her hands, trying to forget that her best friend had seen her in such an intimate act.

"I'm sure it was more embarrassing the time Harry walked in on you two when you were wearing a school uniform and making good use of Draco's desk in his office."

Hermione's mouth dropped open as the reason for the uniform in her wardrobe was explained to her. Hesitantly she explained to Ginny what else she had found in the wardrobe. Ginny had laughed loudly and explained that she had been the one to help Draco get a complete uniform and he hadn't been shy in letting her know why he was procuring one.

By this point Hermione was getting totally embarrassed and changed the subject by asking Ginny for a top up of wine. While Ginny topped up the two glasses of wine Hermione opened the maltesers and popped one into her mouth. Offering the bag to Ginny she decided a total subject change was in order, unless she wanted to spend the night getting increasingly flustered.

"Have you and Harry ever thought about children?"

"Way to change the subject, Hermione." Ginny laughed, but allowed her friend to move onto something less embarrassing. "Yes, we've thought about kids but we're not ready yet."

"Why?" Hermione asked. "When we were in school getting married and having children seemed to be important to you."

"It still is but my career is also important to me. When I have children it's basically the end of my playing days so I want it to be when I'm ready to finish with Quidditch. I don't want to spend the early years of my child's life resenting the fact my career is over. Then there's Harry's job to take into consideration, as an Auror his job is pretty dangerous and it's not unusual for him to be called away on short notice. He's already Deputy Head Auror and in a couple of years he'll be Head Auror and then he can pretty much pick and choose how much to get involved in a case. So I think any children for us is still a few years into the future."

Hermione smiled at Ginny's reasoning. In school she had been worried that the minute Ginny graduated her and Harry would marry quickly and within months she would be pregnant. Hermione had nothing against her friends settling down quickly but she had hoped they would at least live their own lives for a while before devoting their lives to their children.

"Do you know if Draco and I have discussed children?" Hermione asked. Children had always been something she was unsure of and even in the part of her relationship with Ron she could remember she hadn't really thought about them having children together.

"Yeah, you have. That's actually the reason you bought this house." Ginny explained. "Getting married and having children was definitely what your immediate future held before your memories went. I know you were planning on having a short engagement and from what I could gather trying for a baby would start practically as soon as you were married."

"So we weren't trying yet?" Hermione asked. She had seen a contraceptive potion in the bathroom but she knew the presence of a potion didn't mean she was necessarily taking it.

"I don't think so, but the only person who'll really know is Draco. Why? Are you worried you might be pregnant?"

"No." Hermione shook her head. "I was just curious as to how serious we were."

"You're getting married, Hermione, you don't get more serious than that." Ginny pointed out.

"I guess so." Hermione said. "Anyway I'm tired of talking about me, tell me about your wedding. What was it like?"

Ginny immediately started grinning as she recounted her wedding in great detail for her friend. After discussing Ginny's wedding, talk turned to the rest of her family and the two women were talking about George and Angelina's upcoming bundle of joy when Harry and Draco returned.

Almost immediately Harry and Ginny departed, leaving Hermione and Draco alone. After what Ginny had just told her about their exploits Hermione found herself even more embarrassed around Draco. Muttering a quick goodnight she rushed off to bed, wondering how much she could avoid him over the weekend.


	15. Clearing the Air

Hermione paced the floor in the bedroom, plucking up courage to go and speak to Draco. After briefly popping downstairs and grabbing a slice of toast and a drink for breakfast, Hermione had rushed back upstairs where she had been for the rest of the morning. Hermione wasn't stupid and had known right from the beginning that she and Draco had definitely slept together, they were after all in a serious relationship. But knowing something and seeing and hearing things that confirmed it for herself was a different matter.

Hermione was still trying to get used to the way Draco had looked at her and Ginny's stories hadn't helped ease her nerves. To be honest she was still in shock that she was the type of person who would dress up for her partner. She was also shocked to hear that her sex life wasn't confined to the bedroom. Hermione wasn't sure if over the years she had just became more outgoing and confident or if the change had to do with her choice of partner, although she strongly suspected it was the latter that was the key to her change. Hermione was pretty sure that even if her relationship with Ron hadn't failed they still wouldn't have been the sort of couple getting frisky outside the bedroom. Because she went back to school a few months after they got together as a couple, the times Hermione had been with Ron in a sexual manner were few and far between. But the few experiences she did have had never lived up to what Ginny used to describe as having experienced with Harry.

Brushing thoughts of her experiences with Ron out of her head Hermione turned and headed determinedly out of the bedroom. She quickly checked Draco's study but finding it empty she went downstairs. Hermione found the blond in the front room idly flicking around the television.

"Can we talk?" Hermione asked, hovering in the doorway.

"Of course." Draco flicked off the television and turned his attention towards Hermione.

Hermione slowly made her way into the front room and perched on the sofa next to Draco. Turning to look at the blond she realised she really wanted to get rid of the awkward atmosphere between them. She was becoming increasingly fond of Draco and the previous day she had missed the easy way in which they interacted and talked about their days.

"I'm sorry for yesterday morning." Hermione said quietly.

"What for?" Draco asked, moving closer to Hermione. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"I should have gotten dressed before leaving the bedroom."

"Why? It's your house Hermione, you can wear what you want to come down for breakfast."

"Maybe, but I should have thought and not flaunted myself. I didn't mean to make things hard for you." Hermione said, blushing as she remembered what Ginny had told her the previous night about Draco's reaction to seeing her in his clothes.

"It wasn't your fault." Draco said, trying his best not to make some crack about exactly how hard she had made him. "It's was always going to happen at one point, I'm far too attracted to you to be able to control myself for any length of time. I'm just sorry I made you uncomfortable."

"You didn't." Hermione protested but Draco's disbelieving look had her backtracking. "Okay maybe I was a bit uncomfortable. But I've never had anyone look at me like that before, it was a bit overwhelming."

"You have, you just can't remember." Draco said softly.

Hermione looked up into Draco's eyes and instead of the desire she had witnessed the previous day all she saw was love, how much he cared for her practically radiated off him in waves.

"Ron never once looked at me like that. He never once looked at me like I was the most precious thing in his life." Hermione said quietly.

"Then I will repeat what I've always said about him, Weasley is by the far the most idiotic bloke on this planet." Draco reached out and gently tucked a curl of Hermione's hair behind her ear as he was speaking. "Anyone foolish enough to let you go is definitely an idiot of epic proportions."

Hermione blushed at Draco's compliment but she also couldn't help laughing at his insult aimed towards Ron. "Thanks, but I have a sneaking suspicion you may be a bit biased."

"Probably more than a bit." Draco admitted. "So are we all sorted now? Can things go back to how they were?"

"Yes, I hope so." Hermione said. "Although I'll be more careful about what I wear around the house."

"Fine, but please tell me things will go back to normal when your memory returns." Draco said, laughing when Hermione blushed yet again. "I rather like you wearing my clothes."

"I noticed." Hermione muttered.

Draco laughed again and Hermione even managed to smile. While she was still flustered by all the flirtatious talk she couldn't help but be flattered. Hermione had always considered herself to be pretty ordinary in the looks department so it was a massive boost to her confidence to find that Draco found her so attractive.

"Now that we're all sorted, what do you want to do today?" Draco had barely finished speaking when the floo sounded and Harry's voice drifted through the house.

Seconds later he appeared in the doorway, greeting both Hermione and Draco cheerily as he settled down on a chair opposite them. "I'm not disturbing anything am I?" He asked, suddenly spotting how close the pair were sitting.

"I'm sure if you were disturbing something you would know." Draco rolled his eyes at Harry.

"True, I've disturbed you two enough times to know I've arrived before anything has happened. Thank god." Harry shivered dramatically. "I've seen more than enough to last a lifetime."

"The feelings entirely mutual, Potter." Draco drawled. He and Hermione had interrupted the Potter's numerous times and during a recent weekend away with the other couple they had heard more than they ever wanted to hear. "The sight of your scrawny backside will haunt me until the day I die."

Hermione's eyes widened as she realised what Draco was implying, although she wasn't totally surprised that Harry and Ginny had been caught together more than once. After all she'd walked in on them kissing on Ginny's bed days before her and Ginny returned to school for their last year, and she suspected that if she had been ten minutes later they would have been doing a whole lot more than kissing.

"I'm sorry Harry, I don't mean to sound rude but was there a point to your visit?" Hermione asked, desperate to change the topic of conversation.

"Yes, I came to see if you two wanted to come to Ginny's match with me today." Harry said, returning to the point of his visit. "George was supposed to be coming with me but Angelina discovered he hasn't finished decorating the baby's room so she's not letting him out until he's finished the room."

"I told him he would be in trouble for telling her he'd finished." Draco laughed. "But you know George, he was totally convinced he could sweet talk his way out of trouble."

"That clearly failed." Harry replied, laughing along with Draco. "Anyway what do you say, fancy coming with me?"

"I'm not really a fan of Quidditch." Hermione said. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Draco smirking slightly and her mind was suddenly filled with images of the blond wearing his old Quidditch uniform.

"Come on Hermione, it'll be fun." Harry pleaded. He vaguely wondered what thought had his friend blushing so much but decided he was better off not asking. "Ginny has a private box for her friends and family. Us three can hang out, watch the game and make the most of the free refreshments they offer."

"What do you think?" Hermione turned to Draco.

"Well I'm always up for Quidditch, but we don't have to go if you don't want to." Draco replied.

"Please, Hermione." Hermione turned back round to find Harry looking at her with pleading eyes and a timid smile.

"Alright, I'll go and get ready." Hermione sighed and stood up.

**…..**

Half an hour later Harry led Draco and Hermione into Ginny's box. He had already explained to Hermione that every player had their own box for when their friends and family came to watch them. Harry had barely thrown the doors open when he stopped in surprise, nearly causing Hermione and Draco to walk into his back.

"What are you doing here?" Harry exclaimed, spotting Ron sprawled in a chair near the front of the box.

"I've come to watch my sister play." Ron replied, not bothering to turn around.

"Sorry, I thought it would be just the three of us." Harry said to Hermione and Draco. If he'd known Ron was going to show up he probably wouldn't have invited Hermione and Draco, with everything that was going on it really wasn't the best idea for Ron and Draco to be in the same room.

"That's fine, Harry." Hermione smiled at her friend. After her run-in with Ron the other day he wasn't the ideal person to spend the afternoon with but Hermione wasn't going to let him drive her and Draco away.

At the sound of Hermione's voice Ron whipped his head round. He was annoyed to find Malfoy was also present but he was more annoyed when they stepped further into the room and he saw Hermione was holding onto his hand.

"Well, aren't you two all cosy." Ron sneered, unable to stop the bitterness from seeping into his words.

"Ron, don't start." Harry warned.

"I'm not starting." Ron huffed. "I'm just disappointed that Hermione hasn't listened to my advice and gotten away from him."

"That wasn't advice, you were just spitting poison like a jealous ex." Hermione snapped back, holding tighter onto Draco's hand. He had first taken her hand as they navigated the crowds in the stadium but she was now finding comfort in the gesture.

"When was this?" Draco asked, wondering when Weasley had managed to get Hermione alone. As far as he knew the only time they spent alone was the hour or so after she had first ran out on him on Sunday morning.

Hermione quickly told Draco and Harry about the coffee she shared with Ron on Thursday morning. Harry glared at Ron when he heard what he had been saying while Hermione could sense that Draco was holding back from reacting. One glance up at the blond revealed his furious expression and the death looks he was shooting at Ron.

"Can't we just put this all behind us?" Hermione suggested. The tension between the three men was getting more than she could bare. "The match will be starting shortly, I'm sure we can all put our differences aside for a few hours."

"Hermione's right." Harry said. "We're all a bit tense right now and things have just gotten out of hand. Don't you agree, Ron?"

"Yeah, sorry." Ron muttered, turning around and slumping back into his seat. It was obvious that Harry was firmly on Malfoy's side so he saw no point in making a fuss.

Once Ron had returned to his seat Harry, Draco and Hermione also took seats. Harry made sure to put himself in between the couple and Ron. Despite Harry's presence in the middle of the group Ron could still clearly see that Malfoy didn't let go of Hermione's hand throughout the match and whenever they spoke to each other they did so quietly and leant in close to one another. Ron definitely wasn't happy with what he was witnessing, Hermione was getting far too close to Malfoy for his liking.

**…..**

Harry breathed a huge sigh of relief when Ron left immediately after the match, he didn't even wait around long enough to congratulate Ginny on her team winning the game. The match had been torture for everyone concerned and Harry felt bad for persuading Hermione and Draco to come. Throughout the match Ron had made snide comments under his breath and every now and again he raised his voice enough for Draco and Hermione to hear. Harry half expected Draco to react to his comments but the blond pointedly ignored Ron and focused the majority of his attention on Hermione.

"Harry." Ginny cried, appearing in front of Harry and giving him a quick hug. "Thanks for coming you guys." She said, turning to Hermione and Draco.

"You were great, Gin." Hermione hugged her friend and congratulated her on the team win.

"Are you two coming out for a drink?" Ginny asked. She was pleased to see there looked to be no lingering awkwardness between Hermione and Draco, in fact they looked quite cosy.

"No thanks." Hermione shook her head. "We're just going to go home and relax."

"We'll see you tomorrow for Quidditch." Draco said as he and Hermione said a quick goodbye and apparated home.

"What was with the quick exit?" Ginny asked, turning to Harry.

"I'll explain at home." Harry sighed, grabbing onto his wife and apparating home.

Once they were home Harry made both him and Ginny a drink as they snuggled down together on the sofa. For a while they discussed the game and how Ginny performed, until Ginny's curiosity got the better of her and she asked Harry what was happening with their friends.

"Ron was at the game today." Harry explained. "It turns out he and Hermione had words on Thursday and he spent the entire match making snide comments about Malfoy. This memory loss thing has just brought out the worst in him, I know he doesn't like the fact Hermione is with Malfoy but he's never been as openly hostile before."

"That probably explains why Hermione didn't want to talk about him last night. The few times he was mentioned she hurried the conversation along." Ginny said, telling Harry how Hermione wasn't even interested in finding out how their relationship had ended.

"I think we need to keep him away until her memory returns." Harry suggested. "There's a good chance he's already blown their friendship but just in case it's still salvageable we need to keep him at a distance until he's willing to move on."

"What about Hermione's visit to the Healer's next week?" Ginny asked. "I know it's really none of our business but I can't see Ron staying away. I mean the only reason us three were there last time was because Hermione was still adjusting, from what I've seen I don't think that's a problem anymore."

"I don't think it is either." Harry smirked, telling Ginny about how close Hermione and Draco had been all afternoon. "As for Ron, I can try and either send him away with work or bury him under a pile of paperwork and ask the Head Auror to refuse to allow him time off for the hospital visit."

"I would go for the sending him away option." Ginny suggested. "Even if he's refused time off, he might still try and sneak away."

Harry nodded at his wife's advice. "That's settled then, I'll try and get him sent away for a few days next week."


	16. Friendly Interactions

Hermione checked her reflection for the third time before she left the bedroom and headed downstairs. Normally heading to The Burrow for the afternoon didn't faze her but before tea she was going to watch the boys play Quidditch in the field behind the Weasley property. Draco had explained that every couple a weeks a big match took place and everyone participated, including his Slytherin friends.

It was these friends that had Hermione nervous. Draco had reassured her they all liked her and everyone got along great but she was still wary. The only one she could really remember from school was Gregory Goyle. Theo Nott and Blaise Zabini hadn't really registered on her radar much as both boys had mainly kept to themselves back in Hogwarts.

"Are you ready?" Draco asked when Hermione entered the front room.

Hermione nodded, pleased to see Draco was dressed like his normal casual self in dark trousers and a sweater. She had been slightly worried he would be wearing a Quidditch top and after Ginny's revelations a few days earlier she wasn't quite sure how she would have reacted to that.

"Don't look so worried, my friends all like you." Draco reassured Hermione with a smile as he stood up and walked over to her.

"Even Goyle?"

"Yes, even Greg." Draco nodded. "I promise I'll be right beside you the entire time and if anyone says or does something to make you uncomfortable just let me know."

"Okay." Hermione smiled, feeling better now that she knew Draco would be with her the entire time.

Since clearing the air the previous morning their relationship had flourished. Throughout Ginny's Quidditch match he had held her hand and Hermione found herself enjoying the contact. When they had come home they had then order takeaway and spent the night curled up in front of the television watching a box set of some crime drama. Even though they hadn't settled down together they had both sat on the same sofa and by the end of the night Hermione had her feet in Draco's lap as he absentmindedly rubbed them.

After grabbing their jackets Draco held his arm out to Hermione and he apparated them to the large field behind The Burrow. When they arrived the field was a hive of activity, Harry and several of the Weasley's were sorting out teams while Ginny and the women were settling down on a large blanket under a nearby tree.

The minute he saw Hermione and Draco, Harry ran over to greet his friends. He was closely followed by Bill, he had been away the previous weekend and was anxious to speak to Hermione. Hermione spoke to Bill and waved to George, Charlie and Neville while Harry was talking to Draco. When Harry and Bill turned and left Hermione found herself being approached by three Slytherins.

"Hermione, it's great to see you." The first Slytherin said with a killer smile. Hermione recognised the handsome dark haired man as Blaise Zabini and could vaguely remember some gossip in sixth year about him being a bit of a womaniser. "You're looking as lovely as ever. Quite ravishing for someone who has no memory."

Hermione blushed and ducked her head as she heard Draco growl softly beside her. Hermione whipped her head up to look in Draco's direction, she was quite surprised to see the jealously flashing in his eyes and the glare he was sending his friend's way. Hermione was totally shocked that Draco was the jealous type, especially when it was only his friend flirting with her.

"Pack it in Blaise. Draco's going to burst a blood vessel. You know what a jealous moron he is." Theo Nott said.

"I'm not a moron." Draco muttered.

"Ah, but did you notice he didn't deny being jealous." Theo laughed with Blaise before turning to Hermione. "Hi, Hermione. It's good to see you. How are you doing?"

"I'm okay." Hermione replied. Yet again things were feeling quite surreal, it was odd enough dealing with Draco on a regular basis but now she had three other Slytherins to contend with.

"That's good, although I suspect this is pretty weird for you." Theo said with a smile.

"Just a bit." Hermione nodded. She decided she quite liked Theo, he seemed pretty down to earth and friendly. She wasn't totally sure she could handle someone as flirty as Blaise while Goyle had yet to speak.

"I think we should go and get sorted." Draco said to his friends. "We don't want to end up with Longbottom on our team."

"Hell no." Blaise snorted. "He's hopeless, come on Theo let's go and make sure it doesn't happen."

While Blaise and Theo rushed off to help organise the teams Goyle stepped up to Hermione and said he was pleased to see her. He then gave her a quick smile before following his friends. Hermione was slightly bemused by his behaviour but Draco explained he was pretty shy and was worried that with no memory Hermione wouldn't want to speak with him.

Draco stayed with Hermione for a few more minutes before she shooed him off to play while she went to join the girls under the tree. As well as Ginny, Angelina and Luna being present Fleur was also there. Like Bill she spent a few minute talking to Hermione and checking she was alright.

"I'm actually coping pretty well." Hermione told Fleur. "And how are you these days? Victorie must be getting big."

Fleur smiled widely at the mention of her daughter and began talking animatedly about the seven year old. Hermione's last memories of Victorie were of her as a baby, in her head she was only a few months old. Hermione listened to every detail of Fleur's stories and found she couldn't wait to get back to The Burrow and see the little girl, who according to Ginny was a carbon copy of her mother.

"Have you had any memories return?" Angelina asked Hermione once the topic of Victorie was exhausted.

"No." Hermione shook her head sadly. "But it's only been a week since I ingested the potion and memories return anywhere between one week and two. Draco's hopeful some will start filtering through in the next couple of days."

"Draco, eh?" Angelina raised an eyebrow at Hermione. "Progressed to first names have we. Last week he was Malfoy."

"We've been getting closer." Hermione said, hoping Ginny wouldn't reveal their conversation on Friday night. Ginny did stay quiet, she just caught Hermione's eye and winked.

"How close is closer?" Angelina asked, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"Not that close." Hermione blushed, knowing exactly what Angelina was implying. "We've just been talking a lot and I've been getting to know him better."

"So I take it you can see why you're with him." Angelina said.

"Definitely." Hermione smiled. "I'm really starting to like him."

"What's not to like." Fleur shrugged. "He's gorgeous, smart, courteous and speaks perfect French."

"Sounds like you've got a rival there Hermione." Ginny laughed. "Should Bill be jealous?"

"Of course not, I love my husband." Fleur huffed. "I can just appreciate a good man when I see one."

"So can us all, that's why we all like him." Angelina said to Fleur before turning back to Hermione. "So have you met his parents yet or are you waiting until your memories return?"

"Draco's mentioned a few times his mother wants to see me, but I'm not sure." Hermione said. "He says we get on really well but he has admitted his father isn't my biggest fan."

"Don't worry about Lucius, Narcissa can keep him well under control." Ginny dismissed Hermione's worries with a wave of her hand. "The man may be a former Death Eater but when it comes to his wife he's a complete pussy cat. Narcissa has him exactly where she wants him."

"I'm guessing she keeps him under control the same way Hermione keeps Draco in line." Angelina said, causing everyone to burst out laughing.

Yet again Hermione found herself blushing at the innuendo. She already knew enough about Draco to suggest the best way to keep him in line was by using her feminine wiles but she really didn't want to think of his parents in the same light, especially if she was going to agree to see them.

"Sorry, Hermione. We didn't mean to embarrass you." Luna said when they had stopped laughing.

"Yeah, we just forget that you're not the confident Hermione we all know and love." Ginny told her friend. "You're back to being the reserved one in the group."

"Was I not always the reserved one?" Hermione asked.

"Not since Draco gave your confidence a boost." Fleur said. "The longer you've being together the more confident you get and you never normally get embarrassed when things turn saucy. The shy, reserved girl we used to know has long since being replaced by a strong confident woman."

As the girl's attention turned to other things Hermione mused over Fleur's words. It seemed that Hermione had changed a lot over seven years and it also seemed that a lot of that change was down to Draco and their relationship. Hermione had always known that Ron always kind of took her for granted and never really appreciated her, it also wasn't just confined to their relationship as it had started back when they were just friends and continued over to when they were together. Obviously having someone who appreciated having her in his life and was constantly telling her it, had worked wonders for her self-esteem, turning her into a more outgoing person.

"God, I miss flying."

Angelina's wistful sigh caused Hermione to snap back to the present. Looking at her friend she found her watching the boys with a wistful expression on her face.

"I swear as soon as little Fred is born I'm having a nice long fly." Angelina announced, her face lighting up as she spoke about flying. "Nothing beats sailing through the sky with the wind in your hair."

"Rather you than me." Hermione laughed. "I still don't get how anyone can enjoying being hundreds of feet in the air with only a bit of wood to support you."

"You can tell her memories are gone, our Hermione would never say that anymore." Angelina laughed.

"Don't tell me I love flying." Hermione gaped at Angelina in shock. "Surely I haven't changed that much."

"Well, I wouldn't say you love flying, but you definitely like it." Ginny said. "Of course you never fly alone. You won't get on a broom without Draco behind you."

"Draco got me to fly?" Despite everything she had heard and seen she was still amazed that she had trusted Draco enough to let him get her on a broom. Both when they were friends and after they got together Ron had tried to get her on a broom and she had downright refused to even entertain the idea.

"Yeah, it took some persuading but he's quite persistent when he wants something." Ginny said. "Mind you Ron wasn't happy when he found out. He moaned for weeks about how you refused to let him teach you how to fly."

"Ron moans about everything Draco does." Fleur snorted delicately. "He just won't give him a chance."

"So Ron's always been against us, his recent actions aren't just him having a bad few days." Hermione sighed. Despite Ron's recent behaviour she had been hoping it was out of character and normally he was fine with her and Draco but obviously that wasn't the case.

"What recent actions?" Angelina asked.

Hermione quickly filled the girls in on her two run-ins with Ron. She also told them of her ultimatum that she had delivered after the first incident.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Ron's always been like that." Ginny sighed. "But before now he tended to keep his sniping more discreet. It's no secret he doesn't like Draco or the fact you're with him but on a whole he actually behaves pretty civilly in public. I think he knows that if he behaves the way he's doing at the minute that you'd get mad at him and end the friendship."

"So why is he doing it now?" Hermione asked in bemusement. "He knows my memory loss is only temporary so what does he have to gain by being so against Draco. I could understand his thinking if it was permanent and he was trying to win me back but with the situation as it is his actions make no sense."

"When it comes to you, Ron doesn't make sense." Angelina told Hermione. "He was the one who screwed up your relationship but in his head he blames Draco for the fact you're not still together."

"How does that work?" Hermione questioned. "From everything I know there was about a year's gap between Ron and I breaking up and Draco and I getting together."

"There was." Ginny confirmed. "But my idiot of a brother was under the illusion you would just be waiting for him when he decided he was ready to settle down. It was only when things started getting serious with Draco that he realised he had lost you."

"I'm sure he had lost me long before that." Hermione stated. She still didn't know every little detail of what had happened between her and Ron but from everything she did know, she suspected nothing would have ever persuaded her to take Ron back.

"Yeah, we all knew that but Ron was too dumb to see it." Angelina said.

"This is getting depressing, can we talk about something else?" Fleur pouted. Discussing Ron's stupidity was not how she had envisaged spending her afternoon with the girls.

"Definitely." Hermione said.

Within seconds the girls had changed the topic to children, Fleur was thrilled to talk about Victorie again while Angelina was more than happy to discuss her upcoming arrival. Ginny and Luna even spoke about their desire to have children and they even managed to get Hermione to admit she wouldn't hate it if she discovered she was pregnant sometime in the near future.

By the time the boys finished their game and headed over to the girls Hermione's head was swimming with images of little blond haired babies. All the talk of children was beginning to make Hermione broody and she wondered if she should ask Draco about their future plans for a family. Ginny may have told her it was something they were considering but she knew if she needed more details she would have to speak to Draco himself.

"Are you coming back to The Burrow, Hermione?" Ginny asked.

"Are you coming?" Hermione asked, turning to Draco who was standing with his friends.

"Nah." Draco shook his head. "If you want to go feel free, I can go and have a few drinks with the boys."

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked. She didn't want Draco to think he was abandoning him for her friends.

"I'm sure, go and spend time with your friends and when you come home we can pick up where we left off last night."

At Draco's words a few people sniggered, but the blond merely rolled his eyes. Both Hermione and Draco knew he was referring to their DVD marathon but it seemed their friends had dirty minds.

"See you later then." Hermione smiled at Draco as he gave her a quick peck on the cheek before turning back to his friends.

While the Slytherins apparated off for a drink, Luna and Neville also went home as everyone else headed to The Burrow. Arriving at The Burrow, Hermione accepted a drink off Molly as she settled in for an afternoon with her friends.


	17. An Unwelcome Visitor

"I've made a decision." Hermione announced over breakfast on Monday morning.

"Will I like it?" Draco asked, looking up from the paper he was reading.

"Hopefully." Hermione smiled. "I think we should ask your parents over for dinner tomorrow night."

"What brought about your change of heart?" Draco asked. "You've been adamant that you don't want to face father just yet."

"I spoke to the girl's yesterday afternoon and they said I'd be fine." Hermione admitted cautiously, she wasn't sure if Draco would be offended that he had been telling her the same thing and she was still unsure of meeting his parents but once her friends said it she was fine.

"They told you mother keeps father on a short leash." Draco chuckled. He knew what sort of gossiping Hermione and her friends got up to and he had overheard Fleur and Angelina mentioning that very thing about his parents a few months ago.

"Something like that." Hermione said. "Is it true?"

"Yep." Draco nodded. "Malfoy men are smart, they know the key to an easy life is to listen to the woman in your life."

"Do you do that?"

"Of course, darling, I listen to everything you say." Draco winked at Hermione and laughed when a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.

"Well I say, get to work or you'll be late." Hermione said as she began to clear the table.

"Okay, I'm off." Draco stood up and gave Hermione a quick peck on the cheek before heading to the door. Stopping in the doorway he suddenly turned back around. "I might be slightly later than normal today, I have a lunch meeting to attend. But I should still be home sometime this afternoon."

"That's fine." Hermione said, continuing to wash the dishes. "Have a good day."

After Draco left Hermione finished the dishes before heading into the library. She was really getting into her book and had already made notes on several other projects she could tackle once she was finished with what she was working on. If Ginny had been right about her and Draco seriously considering starting a family, it might have been a factor in her agreeing to write the book in the first place. Being at home most days, rather than at her shop, would definitely make pregnancy and the first few years of a child's life easier to handle.

Settling down to work Hermione pushed thoughts of babies and anything else not work related out of her mind. Nearly two hours later she was disturbed by the floo network sounding. Hermione was puzzled as to who could be visiting, she was even more puzzled when a woman's voice shouted Draco's name. Leaving her work on the table Hermione left the library to find out who her mystery visitor was.

Arriving in the hallway she spotted a dark haired woman emerging from the floo room.

"Pansy?" Hermione questioned. She was trying to think if the Slytherin girl had ever been mentioned to try and determine what sort of relationship she had with her, if any at all.

"Hello Hermione." Pansy tried to smile but Hermione could easily see the insincerity behind it. "I came to see how you and Draco were coping. He told me what's been happening."

"We're fine." Hermione said. She was still unsure about Pansy and her motives, while her smile had lacked sincerity her words sounded more as if she cared. "Although Draco's not actually here at the minute, he's at work."

"He left you alone?" Pansy initially sounded surprised but her tone soon shifted to contain a distinct mocking tone in it. "Although, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. He always was a bad boyfriend when it came to emotional support."

"He's supporting me just fine." Hermione retorted, annoyed by Pansy's dig.

"I'm sure he is." Pansy said, smiling that same insincere smile. "He has changed a bit for you."

"Everyone changes slightly in a relationship, its called compromise." Hermione said.

"Draco never was big on compromise, he always expected to get his own way in everything."

"Yes, but as you pointed out, he's changed." Hermione snapped, getting annoyed at the raven haired witch who had barged into her house and began throwing snide comments around.

"No-one changes that much." Pansy laughed. "I know you're probably a bit confused without your memories so you won't remember what he was like before you two got together."

"What does it matter what he was like before we were together?" Hermione demanded. "What's important is what he's like now."

"If you say so, but in my experience when a man is used to shagging any willing witch in the vicinity he doesn't do well with settling down with one in particular." Pansy paused to sneer at Hermione, taking in her casual clothes of jeans and a jumper. "Especially one as plain as you."

"You sound jealous Pansy." Hermione tutted at the witch standing opposite her. "What's wrong are you disappointed he never settled down with you? Have you ever considered the fact he never loved you? Maybe all you were to him was a convenient shag."

"Maybe." Pansy shrugged, unaffected by Hermione's words. "But I've clearly got something appealing about me, he always returns for more."

"Don't you mean he used to." Hermione retorted. "Before me."

"Don't be so sure." Pansy smirked. "You've been without a memory for over a week now. A week is a long time for Draco to go without sex. That is, if he is going without."

"Get out." Hermione snarled, finally losing her temper.

"Touched a nerve have I?" Pansy cackled

"Out. Now." Hermione drew her wand and pointed it at the laughing witch.

"I'm going." Pansy turned to leave but at the doorway to the floo room she paused and turned back to Hermione. "Take it from me, Draco's isn't the marrying kind. He doesn't have it in him to be faithful to one witch."

Turning around Pansy sauntered from the house, leaving Hermione in a mass of confusion in the hallway. Deciding she couldn't concentrate on her work just yet Hermione went into the kitchen and made herself a cup of coffee. She then headed into the garden where she cast several warming charms on the small area where the table was located. Settled securely in the garden Hermione sipped her coffee and thought about Pansy's words.

Hermione didn't really think Draco had cheated on her, but Pansy had planted a tiny seed of doubt. Hermione already knew that their sex life was normally active and it was probably unusual for them to go so long not just without sex but without any sort of physical activity. The most they had done this week was hold hands and the occasional peck on the cheek. Thinking over everything she had learnt this week Hermione became more and more certain that Pansy was just trying to cause trouble. Every single thing she knew about Draco had led her to the conclusion he was madly in love with her and would never in a million years cheat on her or do anything that would cause her pain.

After deciding Pansy was lying about Draco cheating, Hermione considered what she had said about his past. Hermione had tried looking through the memories she did have for any flicker of Draco but it would seem her last memories of him were directly after the war and the trials his family had endured. Hermione realised she had no idea of what his life was like until they got together, Pansy could very well have been telling the truth about his lifestyle. Even if Pansy was right and Draco had spent a few years sleeping around it didn't mean he wasn't able to sustain a committed relationship, they seemed to have done alright for the last five years.

By the time Hermione had been sitting outside for nearly an hour she was fuming at Pansy. She had clearly visited just to cause trouble, in fact her actions reminded Hermione of Ron. They were just two jealous exes who couldn't accept that Hermione and Draco had moved on and were happy together.

Despite her realisations that Pansy was just bitter Hermione was still bothered by her visit over an hour later when Draco returned home. By this point Hermione had moved into the front room and was sitting curled up with a book, even though she was just staring blankly at the pages.

"I thought you would be in the library." Draco said, moving to sit down next to Hermione.

"I thought you were going to be late." Hermione replied. "Didn't you have a lunch meeting?"

"It was cancelled." Draco said, studying Hermione closely. "What's wrong?"

"What makes you think anything's wrong?" Hermione asked.

"Because I know you." Draco responded, plucking the unread book from Hermione's hands and placing it on the coffee table. "What's happened?"

Hermione looked at Draco, wondering if she should tell him about Pansy's visit and the venomous words she had delivered. Deciding that being in a relationship with someone meant that you should always have someone to talk to and confide in, Hermione made a decision.

"Pansy called round this morning." She eventually volunteered.

"What did she say?" Draco groaned. He knew Pansy wasn't happy about him and Hermione but he had never thought she would come to see Hermione, normally she avoided her unless it was completely necessary.

"She started off fine, then she started making digs at you." Hermione said. "She implied that because of your past you wouldn't be happy settling down with me. She also implied that you'd gone to her this week for what you weren't getting off me."

"The bitch, I'm going to kill her." Draco muttered. "It isn't true, you know. I would never cheat on you."

"I know." Hermione smiled. She decided not to tell Draco about the miniscule doubts she had as she had dismissed them very quickly and she was confident that without her missing memories she wouldn't have had doubts at all. "Was she lying about your past though?"

"That all depends what she said. If she said I'd spent a few years sleeping with any willing witch then that's true." Draco said, admitting to his past. With her memories Hermione already knew about his womanising ways and it hadn't bothered her then so he doubted it would bother her now. "The implication that I can't settle down and be committed, is false. I'm not going to lie to you, before you I had no intention of settling down and getting married. You're the only woman I've ever met that I wanted to spend my life with, you're the only woman I've ever loved."

Hermione smiled at Draco's words. "She also implied that you would struggle with the current situation. I know we normally have a very physical relationship, so I was wondering how you were coping."

"Are you asking if I ever relieve myself or if I can cope being in a relationship with no sex?" Draco asked.

"The second one." Hermione mumbled as she blushed bright red.

"Firstly it's not forever." Draco reached over and lifted Hermione's head so she was looking at him. "And secondly, you're the only woman I want. I don't care if we don't have sex for a week, a month or even a year. I love and want to be with you, sex or no sex."

"You wouldn't care if we didn't have sex for a year?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at Draco.

"I'm not saying it wouldn't be tough, hell a week has been tough enough. But I'm not with you because of the amazing sex, I'm with you because I love you."

"Amazing?" Hermione questioned with a shy smile.

Draco grinned back at Hermione and moved so his face was inches in front of hers. "Definitely amazing. Mind-blowing, even."

Hermione smiled again before closing the small gap between them and gently pressing their lips together. Draco's hand came up to cradle Hermione's cheek as he responded to the kiss, making sure not to move too quickly. After a few minutes he gently nibbled on Hermione's bottom lip, seeking entrance to her mouth. When her mouth opened slightly Draco slipped his tongue inside, gently caressing it around her own. Hermione moaned softly and tangled her hand in Draco's hair as she got lost in the most amazing kiss she had ever experienced.

"Wow." She panted when they finally parted. "If that kiss was anything to go by, I think amazing is an understatement."

Draco couldn't help but laugh, slowly but surely the old Hermione was creeping back. With each passing day Hermione was gaining more confidence, even a few days ago she never would have made a comment like that.

"Should I make us some lunch?" Hermione asked. "I haven't eaten yet."

"Yeah, that would be great." Draco said, standing up. "I just have something to do and I'll be right back."

"You don't have to." Hermione said, standing up and following Draco into the hallway.

"I don't have to what?" Draco asked. He knew with her memories Hermione would know exactly what he was planning on doing but he hadn't thought that she could read him that well without them, obviously he was wrong.

"Go and see Pansy." Hermione replied. "That is what you're going to do isn't it? You're going to go and visit her and confront her over what she said."

"I am." Draco admitted. "She needs to know she can't just talk to you the way she did."

"Don't say anything you'll regret later." Hermione warned. "And don't be long."

"I won't. This won't take long at all." Draco muttered, stalking off to the floo room.

Throwing some floo powder into the fire Draco stepped into the flames, calling out the address to Pansy's studio apartment. Draco knew his friend worked from home and unless she was visiting a client at their home she spent most of her days in her own place. Draco had barely stepped out of the flames in Pansy's front room before his friend arrived in the room.

"Draco, I didn't expect to see you." Pansy's welcoming smile vanished as she saw the dark look on her friends face.

"Hermione didn't expect to see you either." Draco said. "And she definitely didn't appreciate what you said. Nor did I for that matter."

"Look, I don't know what she told you but I think she just misinterpreted what I was saying. I popped round to see how she was doing and the next thing I know she's taken offence at some innocent little comment and is throwing me out."

"Nothing that comes out of your mouth is innocent, Pansy." Draco snapped. "I know what you said to Hermione and you had no right. I'm sorry you can't accept I've moved on but that doesn't give you the right to come to my house and upset my fiancée."

"She's not your fiancée." Pansy scoffed. "You're wearing her bloody ring round your neck. If she was still your fiancée it would be on her finger."

"I'm just keeping it safe for her, once her memories start coming back it will be back on her finger where it belongs."

"If she doesn't leave you first." Pansy sneered at Draco. "You didn't see her reaction when I mentioned the fact you didn't know how to keep it in your pants before her. She's now worried that you'll stray the minute you're not getting some at home."

"She knows I won't do that. I love her far too much to ruin our relationship by having a quick fling." Draco smirked at Pansy, suddenly realising what her real problem was. "I'm not a cheater."

"Really, you were with me plenty of times when you were dating other women." Pansy said. "Sometimes even the same day."

"Perhaps I should rephrase it then, I'm not a cheater when I'm in a serious relationship. All those women I slept with meant nothing to me, so it didn't matter when I occasionally shagged you on the side." Draco couldn't help but feel bad for the way Pansy was starting to tear up but he knew that he would have to be brutal with her to get it through her thick skull that anything they had was in the past. "And as for you, I never loved you."

"You did." Pansy whispered. "Back in school, you did. Until sixth year we were happy, we could still be happy together."

"I'm sorry, Pans, but we really couldn't. I never loved you in school, you know as well as I do that I wasn't even faithful back then. I used you, both when we were in school and after. I'm really sorry and I know I should have treated you better but you were just an easy shag. I kept coming back because you didn't tell me no."

"You never loved me?" Pansy whispered, her whole world falling to pieces around her. For years she had let Draco treat her like a doormat because she was under the impression that once upon a time he had loved her and if he had loved her once he could do so again.

"I'm sorry, Pansy." Draco said softly. "I wish I didn't have to be so brutal about it, but you just wouldn't listen. I've been telling you for years I don't love you and you just won't let go."

"I'm letting go now." Pansy said, fighting back the tears. "I don't think we should see each other again. I hope you're happy with Granger, but I won't be around to witness it."

"Sorry." Draco wanted to comfort his friend but knew he was probably the last person she would want near her. Instead he headed back to the fire and prepared to floo home. "Goodbye, Pansy." Turning to his friend he smiled at her one final time before he disappeared in flames.

"Goodbye, Draco."


	18. Meeting the Malfoy's

Sitting at her dressing table, putting on her jewellery, Narcissa Malfoy watched in the mirror as her husband paced the floor behind her. Occasionally Lucius would express his annoyance at going to dinner with Draco and Hermione but Narcissa was ignoring him. Ever since Draco called round the previous evening and invited them to dinner Lucius had been muttering to himself.

"Will you stop complaining." Narcissa said, turning round to face her husband. "Honestly, anyone would think you didn't want to see our son."

"I just don't see why we have to go to dinner." Lucius argued. "We should be using this situation to get Draco away from Hermione, not sitting down and eating with them."

"That's an awful thing to suggest." Narcissa glared at her husband. "Hermione may have lost her memories but Draco hasn't, he still loves her and nothing you can do will change that. Besides, he said her memories would be coming back soon and things can go back to normal."

"Joy, I can look forward to having a muggleborn in the family." Lucius sneered.

"You know your problem, Lucius." Narcissa stood up and walked towards her husband. "You're just too stubborn to admit you actually like Hermione. Your stupid pride won't allow you to admit you were wrong about muggleborns."

"I am not wrong about muggleborns." Lucius insisted. "I admit maybe they're not quite as bad as I one believed but I'm still against a muggleborn becoming a Malfoy."

"You would rather it was someone like Pansy?" Narcissa questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"At least she's a pureblood."

"She might be a pureblood, but she was no good for Draco." Narcissa said. "The poor girl was a complete doormat and let Draco walk all over her. At least Hermione stands up to Draco and doesn't let him dominate her."

"Malfoy men are always dominant." Lucius responded with a smirk and a wink.

Narcissa couldn't help but chuckle and smile back at her husband. "I wasn't talking about the bedroom, I was talking about their life in general. Draco's like you, he needs someone to stand up to him and make sure he doesn't always get his own way."

"And you think Hermione is that person?"

"I know it." Narcissa nodded. "And so do you. You admitted yourself, you noticed how upset Draco was last week when he first told us about Hermione. They belong together and deep down you know that."

"Even if I accept they're well suited, I'm still not accepting your ridiculous theory that I like her." Lucius said. "She's a mouthy, opinionated muggleborn for crying out loud."

"That's exactly why you like her." Narcissa laughed. "You like that she challenges you and argues against some of the more ridiculous things you say. You also like that she can look beyond your past. She doesn't see an ex Death Eater who should scare her, she sees her future father-in-law who often needs taking down a peg or two."

"I'm not admitting to any of that." Lucius snorted.

"You don't have to." Narcissa smiled and pecked Lucius on the cheek. "We've been together over thirty years, I can read you like a book."

"I'm still not happy about tonight." Lucius grumbled, trying to get back to the real point. He was quite disconcerted that Narcissa had managed to pick up on the fact that maybe, just maybe, he didn't think Hermione was actually all that bad.

"You don't have to be happy, just behave yourself." Narcissa warned, turning back to her dressing table and picking up her clutch bag.

"What's in it for me?" Lucius questioned, stepping up behind Narcissa and enveloping her in his arms. "What do I get if I behave tonight?" He asked, whispering in his wife's ear.

Narcissa turned round in her husband's arms and in true Malfoy fashion, she smirked at him. "If you're a good boy tonight, I'll let you be a naughty one when we get home."

"Deal." Lucius smirked back at his wife, before giving her a breath-taking kiss. "Come on, we'll be late." He declared, pulling away and leading the way from the bedroom.

Following her husband Narcissa couldn't help but smile to herself, she knew her suggestion of a bit of action later that night would ensure his co-operation over dinner. With the thought of what was waiting for him upon their arrival home Narcissa knew Lucius would behave perfectly while they were at Draco and Hermione's.

**…..**

"Stop worrying, everything will be fine." Draco brushed Hermione's hair away from her face and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

The couple were currently in the floo room, waiting for Draco's parents to arrive for dinner. All day Hermione had been a nervous wreck and the nearer it got to the time the Malfoy's were arriving the more nervous she became. More than once she had regretted telling Draco to invite his parent for dinner and the previous night she even had to stop herself from retracting the offer just before he went off to the Manor to speak with them.

"Are you sure?" Hermione bit her bottom lip nervously.

"I'm positive." Draco nodded. "Everything will be fine, trust me."

"I do." Hermione said, stepping forward and giving Draco a quick hug.

Since their kiss the previous day things had changed between them and Hermione found herself much more eager to initiate physical contact. When Draco had returned from seeing Pansy the previous afternoon he had told Hermione what had happened over lunch, before the couple went their separate ways for the afternoon to work. After dinner they had then both settled in the front room with their respective books, although Hermione had nestled herself into Draco's side and his hand absentmindedly played with her hair as they read. Since their first proper kiss Draco had given Hermione a couple of pecks but they had yet to repeat the sort of kiss they first shared.

Hermione had just stepped back from Draco's embrace when the floo network sounded. Turning around Hermione came face to face with Draco's mother. Seconds later Lucius arrived in the room. Narcissa greeted Draco with a hug before she turned to Hermione.

"It's lovely to see you again, Hermione." Narcissa smiled. Her first instinct was to give Hermione a hug like normal but she restrained herself, knowing she would be unsure of what to expect from her and Lucius.

"I'm glad you could come." Hermione replied.

"Thank you for inviting us, I suspect it wasn't an easy decision to make." Narcissa said. "After all, it's not like you can remember knowing either Lucius or myself."

"I may not remember knowing you but you're Draco's parents, so I figured you couldn't be all that bad." Hermione smiled at Narcissa. She instinctively felt comfortable around the older witch and she suspected Draco was telling the truth when he had said they were pretty close.

Lucius looked at Hermione in surprise, shocked she was joking with his wife so easily. With her memories missing Lucius had expected to find the slightly nervous, timid Hermione they had encountered when they had first met her years ago. Of course that timid woman had soon disappeared the more comfortable Hermione became around them and within months she was constantly challenging Lucius. Instead he was confronted with a slightly different Hermione to the one he was used to, she was still clearly slightly nervous being around them but she still had a bit of her old spark. Lucius was confident he wouldn't have to deal with his son's normal feisty fiancée, but he had a feeling that even without her memories that the former Gryffindor could keep him on his toes.

"Should we head into the dining room?" Draco suggested.

"Of course." Lucius nodded at his son. "What are we having?"

"Rack of Lamb." Hermione replied.

"That's Lucius's favourite." Narcissa whispered to Hermione as they followed Draco and Lucius to the dining room.

"I know, I deliberately asked Draco what he liked." Hermione whispered back. "I was hoping if I fed him something he liked he would go easy on me."

"That's a pretty good idea." Narcissa said. "Feeding him his favourite foods is quite possibly the second best way to get him in a good mood."

Hermione smiled politely, she really didn't want to ask what the best way of keeping Lucius happy was as she already had a sneaking suspicion what it entailed.

Once everyone was settled Hermione went to retrieve the food while Draco sorted the drinks. They then settled down to a nice meal, most of the conversation revolved around Draco's business but Narcissa did ask Hermione how her shop was and how she was doing with her book. It wasn't until dessert that Hermione's memory loss was mentioned again.

"So have you had any memories return yet?" Lucius politely asked Hermione.

"No." Hermione shook her head sadly. "Not a thing, I was hoping for something to come back before now."

"I'm sure they will, dear." Narcissa reached over and gave Hermione's hand a squeeze. "You just have to give it time."

"I thought you said the potion started to wear off after a week." Lucius turned to Draco.

"Somewhere between a week or two." Draco responded. "I'm sure there's nothing to worry about."

"So you say, but you should have gotten a second opinion." Lucius stated. "What if the Healer's screwed up and there's something else wrong with Hermione and she hasn't been given a potion."

"You almost sound as if you care, Lucius." Hermione smiled sweetly at her potential father-in-law. His words had actually started to get her worrying about her memories but to stop herself from getting worked up she had instead chosen to concentrate on the flicker's of empathy she had heard in his voice.

Lucius momentarily looked uneasy but he soon regained his composure and shrugged a shoulder at Hermione. "I wouldn't say I care, but you are part of this family so I may have a trifling interest in your wellbeing."

"I'm very flattered." Hermione said, with a smile. "You know, you're not nearly as scary as you seem. It turns out you do have a heart."

As Lucius spluttered out a denial, causing Hermione to laugh, Narcissa and Draco watched the bantering between the pair with interest. For the first time it would seem that Lucius had let his guard down and revealed his true feelings regarding Hermione. Draco was shocked that his father wasn't as against his fiancée as he had always appeared to be, while Narcissa was just pleased her earlier words had seemed to have had an effect on her husband and for once he wasn't hiding his real opinions.

After dinner everyone moved into the front room where Draco and Lucius prepared drinks and handed them around. Hermione settled into a chair and Draco perched on the arm, with his arm spread along the seat behind her. Lucius and Narcissa settled onto the sofa and Hermione was quite surprised by how close to each other they sat.

For the next hour Hermione actually found herself watching how Draco's parents interacted with each other rather than paying attention to the conversation. She was surprised that not only did the couple stay within touching distance of each other the entire time but more often than not they were touching. Lucius either had his arm wrapped around Narcissa or his hand was on her knee or arm. Every time the couple spoke to each other Hermione could see and hear the love the felt for each other. Hermione wasn't really surprised that Lucius and Narcissa loved each other, she was however surprised by how obvious it was and how the couple didn't hide their feelings for each other. From everything Hermione could remember about the Malfoy's they were very private people and in public they kept their emotions to themselves. How Draco had conducted himself in school was a perfect example of the cold, hard people they projected themselves to be, but Hermione was quickly realising that it was all an act and the Malfoy's were just as loving as the next family, only they preferred to show their affection for each other in private.

By the time Lucius and Narcissa got up to leave Hermione was actually enjoying herself. She'd discovered she had an easy rapport with Narcissa while Lucius was incredibly easy to wind up. She'd managed to engage him in several debates, ranging from the rights of house elves and other magical creatures to whether muggles should be better informed of the magical world around them. Several times Hermione had pushed at a point she wasn't even bothered about herself just to watch Lucius manage to find a suitable comeback, something he managed to do quite a lot much to her surprise.

"Make sure you let us know what happens tomorrow." Narcissa said, kissing both Draco and Hermione as they said goodbye. "And when you feel up to it, you must come round to the Manor."

"I will." Hermione told Narcissa with a smile. When Narcissa had first mentioned visiting the Manor, Hermione had made it plain she wasn't ready to deal with that and in all likelihood would wait until her memories returned before making that particular trip.

"If this healer still has no answers for you tomorrow, get a second opinion." Lucius said, stepping up to Hermione. "Even better I can set you up with a private Healer. At least that way you know you're getting good treatment, since you pay an arm and a leg for it."

"We'll be fine with the Healer we have. But thanks for offering." Hermione smiled at Lucius.

"Come on, Lucius. It's time we were leaving." Narcissa called. The night had actually been a huge success and she didn't want her husband ruining it at the last minute by getting all high and mighty over Hermione's treatment.

With a hurried goodbye Lucius rushed Narcissa through the floo network, whispering something in her ear that had her blushing. Draco rolled his eyes at his parent's behaviour as he and Hermione headed back to the front room.

"Are they always like that?" Hermione asked as her and Draco settled down on the sofa.

"Yeah, you get used to it." Draco nodded. "In public they're both pretty reserved but in private and around family their true colours come out. Even after all these years they still love each other and aren't afraid to show it."

"That's nice." Hermione said.

"So did you enjoy yourself tonight?" Draco asked. At the beginning of the evening he had been worried about how Hermione would cope with having dinner with his parents but very quickly she had settled into her regular routine of gossiping with his mother and bickering with his father.

"I did, it was fun." Hermione smiled. "Your father was nowhere near as bad as I feared. In fact I got the impression he liked me."

"So did I." Draco agreed with Hermione. "I have a feeling that all of his bluster and disapproval was mainly an act. I think he came to like you a while ago and is only just starting to admit it to himself."

Hermione and Draco spoke about his parents for a while longer before they decided to head to bed. They walked up the stairs together and came to a stop outside of the main bedroom. After a hesitant goodnight Draco leant down and gently kissed Hermione. While the kiss wasn't as lengthy and intimate as their first kiss it was impressive enough to leave Hermione with a big smile on her face, a smile that didn't fade until she drifted off to sleep.


	19. Back to the Healer's

**A/N – First of all, thank you for all the reviews/follows/favourites. Secondly, I want to apologise if people think the story is dragging along. Maybe I should have made it clear from the beginning that the main focus of this story is Hermione and Draco and their relationship. Finding out who took Hermione's memory is only a secondary concern and that plot line will be dealt with over time. For example; the next few chapters contain some progress in that department before a few more chapters dedicated to Hermione and Draco's relationship and their growing closeness, before the culprit is confronted and the story ends. Now I've cleared that up, I hope people enjoy the chapter and the rest of the story.**

* * *

Finally deciding it was a reasonable time to get up Hermione got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. It was the day of her Healer's appointment and she had been awake worrying about the appointment for hours. As much as she had tried not to worry she was becoming increasingly alarmed by her lack of memories, she had thought that because it was over a week since she had taken the potion there would be a least some flicker of memories returning. Instead she was still as much in the dark as when everything had first happened, the only difference was that now she knew a lot more about her life through her friends and family.

After she had showered and dressed Hermione made her way to the kitchen, where she began preparing breakfast. Every morning since her return home Draco had been up before her but she was up so early that morning that she had beaten him downstairs. Hermione had just finished preparing breakfast and putting it on the table when Draco arrived.

"Hey, you're up early." Draco commented, sliding into his seat.

"I couldn't sleep." Hermione shrugged, sitting down opposite the blond.

"Are you nervous about today?" Draco asked. He had taken the entire day off work to accompany Hermione to the hospital as he knew she was slightly apprehensive about the appointment.

"A bit." Hermione admitted.

"Do you want Ginny to come with us?" Draco asked. On Sunday night Hermione had informed him that she had spoken to Ginny that afternoon and the two women had decided that Draco and Hermione should go to the Healer's alone.

"No." Hermione shook her head. "I think I'd prefer it if there were just the two of us."

"That's fine." Draco said. "Maybe we can take your mind off things until it's time to go."

"What do you suggest?"

"We can go for a walk." Draco suggested. "There's a lovely park around the corner, we often go there for a picnic in the summer."

"But it's autumn." Hermione pointed out. "Won't it be a bit cold to be walking?"

"First of all walking through the leaves is really nice, personally I prefer the park in the autumn. And secondly you're a witch, you can easily cast a warming charm on yourself."

"Okay, we'll go for a walk after breakfast."

Draco smiled, pleased he had gotten Hermione's mind off her appointment with the Healer. The rest of breakfast passed without mention of what they were doing in a few hours. When breakfast was over Hermione ran upstairs to put on some boots, before returning to the front hall and wrapping up.

"You do know it's only October don't you?" Draco asked as Hermione wound a long scarf around her neck. "It's slightly chilly outside, we're not in the middle of winter."

"I know." Hermione smiled, pulling on a hat that matched her scarf. "But it's easier to wrap up rather than casting a heating charm."

"If you say so." Draco rolled his eyes at Hermione as he cast a warming charm on himself. "Ready?"

Hermione nodded and headed for the front door. When they got outside and into the street Draco reached out and grabbed hold of Hermione's hand. Walking hand in hand Draco led the way to the park, where they spent nearly an hour wandering about and talking. Hermione was actually disappointed when Draco announced it was time for them to go home and head to the hospital, personally she would have preferred to stay in the park and got to know Draco better.

When they got home Hermione shed her outdoor gear before her and Draco flooed to St Mungo's. In silence the couple headed for the right floor and settled into the waiting room. Now the appointment time had arrived they were both wondering what the Healer would have to say. Maybe he could explain why Hermione hadn't even had the faintest flashes of memory.

At ten o'clock exactly Healer Addams arrived and ushered the couple into his office. "How are things Miss Granger?" He asked, settling down behind his desk.

"Just the same." Hermione answered.

"You mean you haven't had any flashes of memories returning?" Healer Addams asked with a frown.

"No, nothing. I get instinctual feelings about things but no solid memories."

"Have you been finding out about your life and trying to establish a routine?" Healer Addams inquired.

"Yes, I went home the day I was last here. I've then spent time with friends and family, who've all told me stories and filled me in on things in my life. I've also continued some work I had at home and even went into my shop one day." Hermione said, explaining to the Healer what she had been doing with her time.

"And has the routine being what Miss Granger is used to?" Healer Addams turned to Draco. "Is her life as normal as possible?"

"It's as normal as it can be." Draco replied. "Obviously there's some differences, but on a whole she spends her time doing what she normally does."

"What's with all the questions about my surroundings and what I've being doing?" Hermione asked. "Surely it's just a case of the potion hasn't started to wear off."

"I don't think it is." Healer Addams said slowly. "After you were last here I ran some more comprehensive tests, to establish what exactly we were dealing with. I thought it might help with finding whoever did this to you, surely the more information the Auror's have the better."

"Can we get to the point please?" Draco said sharply. He was trying not to snap at the Healer but his ramblings were starting to annoy him.

"Sorry." Healer Addams smiled sheepishly. "Anyway the tests revealed that the potion Miss Granger ingested begins to wear off between seven and eight days after it being administered."

"That means the potion should have started wearing off on Saturday or Sunday." Hermione stated, suddenly getting worried about what was happening to her.

"Yes, it should have." Healer Addams agreed. "By now you should be having regular bursts of memories."

"So what does this mean?" Draco asked. "Was something else done to Hermione at the time the potion was administered?"

"Maybe." Healer Addams said, standing up. "I'm going to take some more blood so we can test it again and I want to give Miss Granger a full check-up, just in case I missed something the first time."

"Do you want me to leave?" Draco asked Hermione as Healer Addams asked her to pop onto the bed.

"No, I want you to stay." Hermione said as she sat on the bed.

Healer Addams started with the blood samples and did his magical observations first. When it came to the physical examination he drew the curtain around the bed to give Hermione a bit of privacy. Ten minutes later everything was complete and Hermione was back sitting next to Draco.

"Everything is in perfect order. Apart from your missing memories you're the perfect picture of health." Healer Addams sighed, totally bewildered by the woman in front of him. "I admit, I'm at a loss. I'm afraid until the blood tests come back there's nothing more I can say."

"When will the tests be back?" Hermione asked. She was starting to get overwhelmed by the lack of progress and just wanted to go home.

"I'll put a rush on them so we can have them back tomorrow morning." Healer Addams said. "We need to discover if there's an underlining cause as to why the potion hasn't started to leave your system."

"Is it something to be worried about?" Hermione asked. "Could I be seriously ill?"

"I don't think so. Try not to worry." Healer Addams smiled at Hermione reassuringly. "We'll have some answers tomorrow, I promise."

"What time do you want us to come back tomorrow?" Draco asked.

"How about the same time as today, ten." Healer Addams suggested.

Hermione and Draco both agreed and the couple left the Healer's office in a cloud of worry and disappointment. They headed home in silence and when they arrived back Hermione removed her jacket and went straight into the front room, where she curled up into a ball on the sofa. Draco also took off his jacket and followed Hermione into the room. Sitting down next to her he gathered the brunette witch in his arms as she broke down in tears.

"It'll be alright, Hermione." Draco soothed. "We'll find out what's wrong."

"What if we don't?" Hermione sniffed. "What if I never get my memories back?"

"Then we'll deal with that if it happens." Draco sighed, wondering where that would leave him if Hermione didn't regain her memories. He was under no illusions that the only reason Hermione had returned home and gave him a chance was down to the fact she thought her memories would be returning, if she'd been told there was a chance they'd never return he doubted she'd be here with him.

"We?" Hermione looked up at Draco with red eyes, tears still trickling down her face.

"Yes, we." Draco wiped away Hermione's tears with the pad of his thumb. "I love you, Hermione and I'll always be there for you. Of course if your memories don't return, I'll understand if you feel you have to leave."

"That's not happening." Hermione said, shaking her head. "Even if my memories never come back, I know how good we are together."

"You would really stay with me, even if your memories didn't return?" Draco asked.

"Yes." Hermione nodded. "Obviously things would be different and we would basically be starting from the beginning but unless you didn't want that, I would stay."

"Of course I want that." Draco said softly.

"Good, because there's something else I want to say." Hermione said, wiping her tears and sitting up straighter. "I'm sorry for the way I reacted the first day I woke up. I know I hurt you with the things I said, and I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, Hermione. I know without your memories all you could remember of me was the awful person I was at school. Yes it hurt, but the minute I realised you'd lost your memories I understood."

"I'm still sorry." Hermione whispered. "Even as I was accusing you of doing all sorts, I could see the pain in your eyes. I think deep down I knew even then that you're weren't the same person as the one I remembered."

"Is that why you came home with me and gave me a chance?" Draco asked.

"Yeah, although the fact you were such good friends with Harry and Ginny helped." Hermione said, admitting her friends had been a factor in her decision to give Draco a chance to prove he had changed. "I knew if you and Harry could get on then you weren't the same person I remembered. Although it's really helped that you've never pushed me into anything and have given me my space, I really appreciate that."

"I would never push you into anything you weren't ready for." Draco said. "I'm just grateful you gave me a chance to prove I'd changed."

"It was obvious you had changed the moment I got over the shock of what was happening." Hermione admitted.

Draco smiled and leant forward, pressing a quick kiss to Hermione's lips. "How about we forget all that and concentrate on now. We'll deal with your memory problems tomorrow."

"There is one more thing." Hermione said, her hand reaching out and twirling the ring Draco had round his neck. "Now we've established I'm not going anywhere, I think you have something that belongs to me."

Draco followed Hermione's gaze to her engagement ring, which she was still twirling around in her hand. "You want your ring back?"

"Only if you want me to have it." Hermione said hurriedly.

"Of course, I want you to have it." Draco reached up and unfastened the chain, he then slid the ring off it and held it in his hand. "Can I?" He asked, looking down at Hermione's hand.

Hermione held out her left hand and watched as Draco slipped the ring back onto her finger. "It's beautiful." She said, picking her hand up and admiring the ring.

"You're beautiful."

Draco put his finger under Hermione's chin and lifted her head up. He then leant down and pressed his lips against hers, deepening the kiss after a few minutes. Hermione returned the kiss with enthusiasm and tangled her hands into Draco's hair, gently tugging on his blond locks. Eventually the couple parted, needing some air.

"You do know this doesn't mean we're jumping back into where we were before don't you?" Hermione asked, wanting Draco to be sure about what they were doing. "If my memories don't return we have to start from nearly scratch."

"That's fine, we can move as quickly or slowly as you like." Draco reassured Hermione with a smile. "You taking your ring back doesn't mean we have to get married right away."

"I'm also not ready to restart the physical side of our relationship." Hermione said. "Are you okay with that?"

"I've kind of gotten used to cold showers this last week and a bit, so I guess a few more won't hurt." Draco joked.

Hermione blushed slightly and smiled, but Draco saw the flash of uncertainty in her eyes. Wanting to reassure her he was just joking Draco took hold of her hand and cupped her cheek in his other hand.

"I can wait as long as you want." Draco said sincerely. "I've already told you that sex isn't all our relationships about. Yes, it's an important part of our relationship but it's not the be all and end all. I'm with you because I'm absolutely head over heels in love with you, not because of the sex."

"Thank you for understanding." Hermione smiled.

"It's nothing." Draco shrugged. "Anyway, I was thinking we could invite the Potter's over for dinner tonight."

"Sure, I'd like to fill them in on what was happening." Hermione nodded, smiling at Draco's abrupt change of subject. It was becoming increasingly obvious that while he was actually really romantic and caring there was only so long he could talk about his emotions before it became uncomfortable for him.

"I'll send them an owl and then we can have lunch." Draco said, standing up and pulling Hermione with him. "We can go out if you want."

"That's okay, we can just stay in." Hermione shook her head. "I'll make us something, then we can curl up on the sofa together and maybe watch a film."

"I like that idea." Draco said, wrapping his arms around Hermione and pressing his lips against hers.

"It'll happen quicker if you actually get moving." Hermione muttered, reluctantly pulling away. Kissing Draco was getting to be addictive and Hermione had a feeling it would only get worse with time, not that she was complaining as she could think if worse things to be addicted to.

"You're right." Draco sighed, releasing Hermione from his hold. "I'm going."

Leaving the front room Draco headed upstairs to send an owl to Harry and Ginny while Hermione headed into the kitchen to start making some lunch.


	20. A Few Answers

Hermione was walking down the stairs when she heard the floo network sound, followed by Draco greeting Harry and Ginny. By the time she reached the bottom of the stairs the trio were emerging from the floo room.

"Hi, Hermione." Harry greeted his friend with a smile and a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm okay." Hermione replied, turning to Ginny. "Hi, Gin. Thanks for coming you guys."

"Thanks for inviting us." Ginny said. "You know we're always up for a night with you two."

"Right, Potter and I will go and get the food." Draco announced, grabbing his jacket. "Is Chinese okay?"

"It's fine." Ginny responded. The Chinese place near to Hermione and Draco's was one of the best around so it was their usual place to go for food when they spent the night at theirs.

"We'll not be long." Draco said as Harry opened the front door. "Is there anything else you want?" He asked Hermione, pausing before he followed Harry out of the house.

"I don't think so." Hermione replied. "Can you think of anything, Ginny?"

"No." Ginny shook her head. "So off you go and get the food, some of us are hungry."

Muttering about bossy redhead's Draco turned back around and headed out of the front door. Once Draco and Harry had left Ginny turned to Hermione, excitement clearly etched on her features.

"I can't believe it." Ginny squealed, pulling Hermione into a bone crushing hug. "I'm so excited for you."

"What are you talking about, Gin?" Hermione asked, extracting herself from her friends embrace.

"Your ring of course." Ginny grabbed Hermione's hand and looked lovingly at the diamond ring that had only just made its way back there. "I take it this means your memories are returning."

"Actually they're not." Hermione replied with a frown. "But we'll discuss that when Harry and Draco return."

"So why are you wearing your ring if you still have no memories?" Ginny asked as the two women made their way into the front room and sat down on the sofa.

"It's kind of like a symbol." Hermione told Ginny. "Basically it's my way of saying that I'm with Draco no matter what happens."

"Are you still engaged?" Ginny asked, confused as to where her friends stood.

"Yes, but if my memories don't return then the engagement will be a long one." Hermione replied.

"Why wouldn't your memories return?" Ginny asked. "Was it bad news at the Healers?"

"I'll explain properly when the boys return, but let's just say that things didn't quite go the way Draco and I had hoped." Hermione sighed, before shaking her head to dispel the clouds of worry that threatened to engulf her.

"Things may not have gone the way you expected at the Healers, but things have clearly gone well with you and Draco." Sensing Hermione's change of mood Ginny set out to lighten the mood again. "If you're wearing his ring and vowing to stay with him no matter what, I take it things have developed."

"Well, we've kissed." Hermione said, causing Ginny to squeal in excitement.

"Sorry." Ginny grinned as Hermione shot her a dubious look. "I'm just pleased for you guys. So how was it? Was it amazing? Have you progressed further than kissing?"

"Slow down Ginny." Hermione laughed. "And to answer your questions it was the best kiss I've ever experienced, yes it was amazing and no we haven't progressed any further than kissing. Although we have kissed a few times now."

"So it that why you're wearing the ring?" Ginny asked. "One kiss and you're madly in love with him."

"I'm not in love with him." Hermione stated firmly.

"Yet." Ginny laughed. "Come on, Hermione it's only a matter of time." She added when her friend looked slightly taken aback.

"It's too soon for that." Hermione insisted.

"Okay, if you insist." Ginny conceded, holding her hands up in surrender. "So you were going to tell me what it was that led to you deciding to wear his ring again."

"There was no one thing, it's just an accumulation of everything I've discovered since my memories were taken. But I think the thing that clinched it was Ron and the comparison I made between the two relationships." Hermione explained, hoping she wouldn't upset Ginny with what she was about to say.

"What does Ron have to do with anything?"

"I have memories of my relationship with him. I know I don't know everything that happened but I remember being with Ron for a year, that's more than enough time to know what sort of relationship we had and how he treated me."

"And you compared him to Draco and realised that not only do you and Draco fit together better, he treats you better and you're happier." Ginny interrupted, understanding what Hermione was saying.

"Yeah, I know he's your brother but he wasn't a very good boyfriend." Hermione said hesitantly.

"I know that." Ginny snorted. "I told you that months before you wised up and dumped his arse."

"So you're not mad at me for thinking Draco is better for me?" Hermione asked. Ginny was her best female friend and she really didn't want to offend her by saying Draco was better than Ron.

"I'm not going to be mad because you can see what everyone already knows." Ginny reassured Hermione. "Everyone knows you and Draco are meant to be together, well everyone except my idiot of a brother. And I certainly don't blame you for thinking you have a better life with Draco, because you do. Draco appreciates you in a way Ron never did or ever would, you'd be a fool to pick Ron over Draco."

"I second that."

At the sound of Harry's voice Hermione turned round, finding her best friend standing in the doorway. Draco was standing next to him, a smirk playing about his lips.

"How long have you two been there?" Hermione asked.

"Since Ginny said you and I are meant to be together." Draco replied, entering the room and depositing the food on the table. "A sentiment I share, I might add."

"Do you really think we're meant to be together?" Hermione smiled as Draco moved so he was standing in front of her.

"I don't just think so, I know so." He said, leaning down and giving Hermione a quick kiss.

Harry's eyes widened as he watched Hermione and Draco looking more like their normal selves. Teasing banter and constant affection was a normal part of being friends with the couple and Harry found he had actually missed it.

"Can we eat?" Ginny whined, drawing everyone's attention. "I'm starving."

"Yeah, come on before it gets cold." Draco said, pulling Hermione off the sofa as they settled around the table.

Harry and Ginny noticed the fact that Hermione and Draco sat as close together as possible while they ate. The initial conversation revolved around the two couples catching up as they hadn't seen each other since Sunday. Once all their latest news had been shared however Harry asked about the Healers and how their appointment went.

"Not good." Hermione replied, holding onto Draco's hand. "The Healer had done some extra tests and it turns out the potion should have started wearing off over the weekend."

"You mean it's not wearing off?" Harry asked. Due to the cosiness between Hermione and Draco he had assumed some of his friends memories were returning.

"No, I haven't had a thing come back to me."

"What does the Healer think is going on?" Ginny asked.

"He doesn't know." Draco snorted, sounding less than impressed. "He took some more blood and is running more tests, we go back for the results tomorrow."

"I was wondering if you two would come with us." Hermione said. She'd had the thought earlier in the day and spoke to Draco about it, he was fine with their friends accompanying them.

"Of course we will." Ginny said. "What time?"

"Ten."

"That's fine, I don't have training tomorrow." Ginny replied. "Can you get the time off, Harry?"

"Yeah, it'll be fine." Harry told his wife. "I can probably take the whole morning."

"There is another thing." Hermione said hesitantly. "I don't want Ron to know. I just can't deal with him on top of the stress of not knowing what's going on."

"Don't worry, he's away on a case." Harry said, failing to mention he was the one who had made sure Ron got assigned a case that would take him out of the country for a few days. "He's not due back till Friday."

"I wondered why he didn't show up at the hospital." Hermione said. "Even though I told him on Sunday I didn't want him there, I still half expected him to show up."

"Enough about Weasley." Draco said, a slight edge apparent in his voice when he mentioned his fiancée's ex-boyfriend. "How about we don't mention him or Hermione's missing memories for the rest of the night."

"I second that." Harry said with a grin. "We need to just have fun."

"How do you suggest we do that?" Hermione asked.

"How we always have fun, we just hang out and have a laugh." Harry replied. "We can even tell embarrassing stories."

"No." Draco practically shouted. "All your stories tend to be about me."

"How many embarrassing things have you done?" Hermione questioned, looking up at Draco.

"Not a lot, but he likes to bring up the ferret incident." Draco muttered. "That still gives me the creeps. Being turned into a furry rodent and ending up inside your friends trousers is not something you want to relive."

"We'll not talk about ferrets." Harry conceded. "We can start with the time Hermione turned herself into a cat girl."

Hermione groaned as the others laughed. Despite the fact the story was obviously well know Harry still took great pleasure in telling it again. When Harry had finished embarrassing Hermione, more stories were told and the friends spent hours laughing at the predicaments the others had found themselves in.

**…..**

"Are you okay?" Harry asked Hermione.

The four of them were sitting in the waiting area in St Mungo's and the closer to her appointment it got the more fidgety Hermione got.

"I'm fine, I just wish this was over." Hermione sighed.

"It'll be over soon." Draco soothed, wrapping his arm around Hermione. "Hopefully we'll get answers today."

"Hopefully right now." Ginny said, gesturing to where Healer Addams was approaching.

Instead of his normal cheerful greeting Healer Addams was more sombre as he ushered Hermione and her friends into his office. Settling down in front of the Healer's desk Hermione clung onto Draco's hand, expecting to hear bad news.

"I'll not beat around the bush." Healer Addams began speaking once everyone had settled down. "The tests show that Miss Granger now has more of the Amissus potion in her system."

"How is that possible?" Ginny gasped.

"Someone's slipped me another dose." Hermione said softly. She'd always known that someone she knew had done this but for them to get to her again meant they were pretty close to her.

"That's why it hasn't worn off yet." Draco muttered. "Someone knew the time frame and slipped Hermione a second dose before her memories started to return."

"That's what it looks like." Healer Addams nodded, agreeing with Draco's assessment of the situation.

"How close are you to getting the hospital records?" Draco turned to Harry.

"Not close enough." Harry sighed. "There's an enormous amount of red tape involved in gaining medical records and I'm getting nowhere fast."

"So I might end up with yet another dose before you can track down who's doing this." Hermione sighed.

"Not necessarily." Harry said, a plan forming in his head. "We actually have a time frame to work with so between the four of us I think we can create a suspect list."

"What if we still can't work out who it is before they give Hermione a third dose?" Ginny asked.

"Why don't you go away for a while." Harry suggested. "If you stay away for a few days the potion will begin to wear off before anyone gets a chance to slip you another dose. Maybe by the time you get back I might even know who's done this."

"What do you think?" Draco asked Hermione. "Should we go away for a few days?"

"Yeah, I like the sound of that." Hermione nodded. "Would that be alright?" She asked, turning back to Healer Addams.

"I think it's an excellent idea." Healer Addams nodded in approval. "Especially if you can go somewhere you go quite often."

"I think we can do that." Draco said with a chuckle. They had three or four places they visited regularly and Draco had nothing against taking Hermione to anyone of them for a few days.

"Do you want to make an appointment now or wait until you return?" Healer Addams asked.

"Can we wait?" Hermione said. "We need to decide how long we're going for."

"That's fine, owl me as soon as you return and I'll fit you in as quickly as possible." Healer Addams smiled at Hermione before turning to Harry. "I have all of Miss Granger's test results, if you need them for your investigation."

"Yeah, I probably will." Harry said. "I'll be in touch if I need them."

"Okay." Healer Addams nodded before turning back to Hermione. "And hopefully next time you're back, your memories will be making an appearance."

"I hope so." Hermione sighed as she got up and thanked the Healer.

After leaving St Mungo's the group headed back to Hermione and Draco's house, preparing to try and draw up a list of suspects as they tried to find who was responsible for Hermione losing her memories.


	21. The Suspect List

Arriving back home Hermione headed into the kitchen to make some coffee. She still didn't want to believe someone she trusted had done this to her and she definitely wasn't looking forward to making a suspect list and going over it.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked, walking into the kitchen and leaning against the bench where Hermione was preparing the drinks.

"Not really." Hermione sighed. "I just don't get why someone's done this to me. Who hates me so much that they want to mess with my life?"

"No-one hates you." Draco wrapped Hermione in his arms as he tried to soothe the upset witch. "I'm sure whoever has done this has some sort of twisted reasoning behind their actions."

Hermione snorted, but she didn't reply. She did think that Draco could be right regarding the perpetrators motives but she was still disturbed that someone she trusted could be so blinded by their own opinions that they had failed to see how happy and contented Hermione was with her life. No matter what reasons the culprit came up with in the end, the simple fact was they hadn't cared one bit about Hermione or her happiness.

"Let's get back to Potter." Draco said, once Hermione was calmer. "He and Ginny are setting up in the dining room. He's gone all official on us and is in full Auror mode."

Wondering what Harry was like in Auror mode Hermione quickly finished making the coffee and her and Draco carried it into the dining room. When they entered the room they found Ginny and Harry sitting around a four person table, pieces of parchment and a quill sitting neatly in front of Harry. Draco and Hermione placed the drinks on the table and settled down in the remaining two chairs.

"First of all we need to make a suspect list." Harry said, sounding official. "For the time being we need to list everyone you've been in contact with since your memories first went missing. Once we've done that we can start eliminating people based on the extra facts we know."

"It looks like you've already made a start." Draco commented, spotting a few lines of writing at the top of Harry's notes.

"He has. You, me and him are the first names on his list." Ginny told Draco, sounding less than impressed that her name was on the suspect list.

"You've put us on the suspect list?" Draco asked Harry in disbelief. "Why? Surely we're the three people least likely to do this. We're closer to Hermione than anyone else."

"Obviously none of us have done this, but for the sake of doing things right we need everyone Hermione has come into contact with on the list." Harry explained to Draco. "So Hermione, who have you seen this last week and a half."

"First there's Ginny's family, I've been to The Burrow a few times." Hermione said.

"Have you seen them all?" Harry asked, making notes. "And what about people like Percy's girlfriend?"

"I met Audrey on Sunday, but you know that Harry. You were there." Hermione tutted at Harry's question, he knew exactly who she had seen during her visits to The Burrow.

"I know, I just want to be thorough." Harry replied. "So apart from the Weasley's, who else have you seen?"

"Luna and Neville, my parents, Draco's parents." Hermione paused, mentally running through her week as she tried to remember who she had seen. "Then there was Draco's three friends. Oh and Pansy Parkinson."

"Pansy?" Ginny questioned. "When did you see her?"

"There was an incident on Monday. She briefly stopped by, we had words and she left." Hermione brushed passed the incident as she knew Draco was still upset that he had potentially lost his friend after the event.

"Okay, I think I have everyone." Harry said, putting down his quill and passing the parchment over to Hermione and Draco. "Check this over and tell me if I missed anyone."

Draco huffed at the sight of his name at the top of the list, but he continued reading.

_Draco._

_Harry._

_Ginny._

_Molly._

_Arthur._

_Ron._

_George._

_Angelina._

_Charlie._

_Bill._

_Fleur._

_Percy._

_Audrey._

_Luna._

_Neville._

_Anne._

_Jack._

_Lucius._

_Narcissa._

_Blaise._

_Theo._

_Greg._

_Pansy._

"It looks complete to me." Hermione said, handing Harry the parchment back. "I don't remember seeing anyone else."

"Now for the eliminations." Harry said. "First of all obviously we all know none of us have done this, but I can't remove our names from the list."

"Why not?" Hermione asked.

"Because we have no evidence to support our removal. I want this to be fair, so we're staying on the list." Harry explained. "Now we need to narrow the suspect list down, firstly we know the potion should have worn off by the weekend so anyone you came into contact with after that is eliminated."

"That's Draco's parents and Pansy." Hermione said. "It was Monday when Pansy called round and we didn't have dinner with Lucius and Narcissa until Tuesday."

"Right. Next up, we know the potion is administered via a drink." Harry said, making sure to cross suspects off his list as they were eliminated.

"That takes Theo, Blaise and Greg out of the equation." Draco said. "Hermione only saw them briefly on Sunday when we were playing Quidditch, no drinking was involved."

"My parents can also be eliminated." Hermione said.

"I'm sorry Hermione, but they can't." Harry told his friend gently. "Like with us three, I know they won't do this but you saw them in the time frame and you drank in their presence."

"But they're muggles." Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, they wouldn't have access to the potion." Ginny said, backing her friend up.

"I know it's a long shot but you could argue with their daughter being a witch and her fiancé running a potions company that they could gain access to the potion." Harry didn't want to include Hermione's parents on the suspect list but he had no solid evidence to eliminate them.

"You really didn't pay attention in potions, did you?" Draco said to Harry. "Muggles can't mix potions. Even with the ingredients and instructions all a muggle would get would be a pile of coloured liquid, it's a person's magic that binds the potion together. That's why no two people can ever produce the exact same potion, there's always slight deviations."

"Snape never told us that." Harry muttered, striking Hermione's parents off the list.

"He did, you just didn't listen." Hermione told her friend. She'd always known her friends dislike of their Potions Professor meant he hadn't really taken in half of what they had been taught.

"Right, I think that's all we can eliminate." Harry said, turning back to the real point of the conversation. Looking down at his list, he took in who was still there, not wanting to believe one of the people still on the list were responsible for what had happened to Hermione.

_Draco._

_Harry._

_Ginny._

_Molly._

_Arthur._

_Ron._

_George._

_Angelina._

_Charlie._

_Bill._

_Fleur._

_Percy._

_Audrey._

_Luna._

_Neville._

"So basically we're down to my family." Ginny sighed, looking at the list over Harry's shoulder. "I know Luna and Neville are still on the list, but like us they wouldn't do this."

"Would anyone on the list do this?" Hermione asked. "No-one has anything to gain by this."

"Except maybe Ron." Harry said. He'd been running through the possibilities in his head and as much as he was disliking it he was starting to suspect his oldest friend of being the culprit. "We can't forget that fact that Hermione's memories were wiped right back to when she was with Ron. Maybe he did this to try and get her back."

"I know that's the logical conclusion, but I don't believe it." Hermione shook her head, refusing to believe that Ron could do something like this to her. "First of all how would Ron have some of this potion and secondly I went to him the first morning my memories were missing and he never once tried to convince me I was still with him."

"I don't know how he could have gotten access to the potion, maybe we can get some answers when I finally manage to get the patient records from St Mungo's." Harry said. "Although I do admit, you make a good point about his reaction the first morning you saw him. Surely if he had slipped you the potion he would have tried harder to persuade you to stay with him."

"And let's not forget the second dose." Draco added. "If it was Weasley who did this, then why didn't he take the weeks' worth of memories Hermione had accumulated since the first dose? Weasley would know that just removing the same memories from Hermione, wouldn't push her to him."

"Draco's right." Hermione agreed. "Whoever gave me the second dose, hadn't realised how close I was getting to Draco, if they had known they would have taken those memories as well."

"Who didn't know you two were getting close again?" Harry asked.

"My parents, Percy and Audrey." Ginny said quietly. "Angelina, Fleur and Luna all spoke to Hermione on Sunday and knew her and Draco were getting closer. The boys were also there and they must have realised the same thing."

"Does this mean we knock a few more people off the list?" Draco asked.

"No, all this talk is supposition, we have no actual evidence that someone just wasn't being an idiot and forgot to include the last week when they brewed the potion." Harry sighed.

"Why don't we just wait until you have the hospital records." Ginny said quietly. She was disturbed by the fact most of her family were suspects and as awful as it sounded she was praying it was someone else, like Luna or Neville, that was responsible.

"We will." Harry said. "I actually have to get back to work now, so I can try and hurry things along."

Gathering his list and shoving it in his pocket Harry said his goodbyes before making his way to the floo room, where he then headed to the Ministry.

"I should go into work as well." Draco said, hearing the floo activating as Harry left. "If we're going away for a few days, I need to make some arrangements."

"Where are we going to go?" Hermione asked as Draco stood up.

"There's four places we go regularly. A villa in the South of France, a penthouse in New York, a cabin in the Alps and a cottage in the Lake District. You can decide which one you fancy visiting." Draco replied.

Draco quickly kissed Hermione and said goodbye to Ginny before he left to head into work. Once they were alone Hermione and Ginny decided to have some lunch before going shopping, Hermione told Ginny she needed a few bits and pieces if she was going away for a few days.

**…..**

"Why are we looking at pyjamas?" Ginny asked, trailing after Hermione as she scanned the rails of nightwear for something she liked.

"So I can buy some." Hermione replied as she continued her search.

"Why?" Ginny persisted in her line of questioning. "Surely these aren't for going away."

"Of course they are." Hermione stopped and turned to face Ginny. "I don't seem to own any suitable nightwear so I need something decent to wear on a night."

"But why pyjamas?" Ginny questioned. "I'm sure we can find you some sexier nightwear."

"I've got plenty of sexy nightwear at home." Hermione retorted, trying not to blush as she remembered exactly what she did have at home. "I want something sensible so I'm not embarrassed if Draco sees me dressed for bed."

"Are you not sharing the same room while you're away?" Ginny asked. "I know you've been in separate rooms at home but I figured with how things were progressing you might be considering sharing a bed."

"I have thought about it." Hermione admitted. "But I'm not ready to sleep with him yet and I don't know if sharing a bed will make things hard on Draco."

"Oh, I'm sure sharing a bed will definitely make Draco hard." Ginny chuckled. She laughed even more when Hermione turned bright red. "But seriously, you should consider it. Draco won't do anything you're not ready for and you could always build up to sex gradually."

"I'll think about it." Hermione muttered, pulling a pair of purple pyjamas from the rail and throwing them in her basket.

Ginny rolled her eyes but followed Hermione as she went to pay. While Hermione may have brought some pyjamas Ginny was hopeful she would at least think about her advice and consider letting Draco into her bed. Just in case Hermione hadn't quite taken Ginny's advice the redhead continued to drop hints about the couple progressing their relationship for the rest of the afternoon. After a few hours shopping the two women went their separate ways, although they had arranged for Hermione and Draco to have dinner at the Potter house later that evening.

**…..**

Hermione was sitting reading in the front room when Draco returned from work. All her purchases from her afternoon's shopping with Ginny were in the bedroom. She had even found a suitcase in the wardrobe and had begun her packing.

"Hi, did you get everything sorted at work?" Hermione asked, putting her book down the second Draco arrived in the room.

"Yeah, it's all sorted, I won't even be missed." Draco replied, sitting down beside Hermione. "Have you decided where you want to go yet?"

"Yes." Hermione nodded. "Can we go to the Lakes, please? I used to go there with my parents when I was younger and I haven't been for years. Well, I mean from what I can remember."

"The Lakes is fine." Draco smiled. He had a feeling she would pick the cottage in the Lake District as he knew that would be the only place she could connect with the part of her life she could remember.

"Can I ask why we have so many holiday places?" Hermione asked.

"Firstly, it's nice to have choices. But mainly each place is special for us. We have the cottage in the Lakes because that's where you spent a lot of your holidays when you were younger. The villa in France used to belong to my grandmother and that's where I spent holidays when I was growing up."

"I like that." Hermione said, when Draco had paused in the midst of his explanation. "I like that we've both remembered our childhood. So what about New York and the Alps, how do we have places there?"

"Well the Alps was where we went for our first weekend away. And New York is a great place for museums and art galleries, cultural things like that. It's also really good for nights out."

"Maybe we should be going to New York." Hermione said, getting attracted by the thought of museums and art galleries.

"We can always have another holiday to New York when your memories are back." Draco told Hermione.

"I like the sound of that." Hermione smiled. "I've always wanted to go to New York and see the sights."

"Well, we will." Draco smiled at Hermione's excitement at the thought of visiting the big apple. "Although by then you'll be able to remember the sights."

"You know, I'm really looking forward to going away." Hermione smiled and gave Draco a hug.

"So am I." Draco said, kissing the top of Hermione's head before he pulled away. "Do we have any plans for tonight?" He asked.

"I said we would go round to Harry and Ginny's for dinner." Hermione said. "Is that alright?"

"It's fine." Draco nodded. "I'll just go and have a shower and get changed."

Hermione picked her book back up and returned to her reading as Draco went off to get ready. After an hours reading Hermione also went to change, before the couple headed to the Potter's for dinner.

* * *

**A/N - Firstly, thanks for all the support and great reviews, you guys are great. Secondly, I took a few liberties with the muggles and potions bit. I have no idea if muggles could make potions, but in my world they can't. **


	22. A Confession

**A/N - This chapter deals a bit more with who gave Hermione the potion as the next handful of chapters are all about Draco and Hermione on holiday and the progress they make with their relationship. **

* * *

"Have a great time." Ginny told Hermione, giving her a hug. "And remember what I said about letting Draco into your bed." She whispered as they were hugging.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ginny as she turned and hugged Harry. It was early on Friday morning and Harry and Ginny had come to see Draco and Hermione off and lock the floo network behind them. They had decided the previous night that no-one but the four of them were to know exactly where Draco and Hermione were going. Both sets of parents had been told the couple were going away for a few days, although no destination was mentioned.

"Here's the address of the cottage." Draco said to Harry, handing him a slip of paper. "If you need us for any reason our floo will connect to the cottage."

"Unless there's an emergency, we won't bother you." Harry replied. "You two just go and enjoy yourselves."

"We will." Draco smiled, picking up his bag and Hermione's case before turning back to Harry. "Don't forget to come and open the floo network on Thursday evening, about six."

"Don't worry, we'll be here." Harry replied.

After final goodbye's Hermione disappeared into the flames, shouting out the address of the cottage. Draco followed after his fiancée, leaving Harry and Ginny alone in the house. Harry then locked the floo network leading into the house before him and Ginny left the house via the front door and locked up.

"Are you okay, Gin?" Harry asked as the couple walked away from Hermione and Draco's house. As they were in a muggle neighbourhood they had to find a safe point to apparate away.

"Not really." Ginny sighed. Since the suspect list had been narrowed down to pretty much her family she had been trying not to think about it but occasionally she couldn't help but dwell on the fact someone she loved had hurt Hermione so much.

"We'll find out who's behind this, Ginny." Harry said, putting his arm around his wife. "I know it's not looking good at the minute, but maybe we've missed something and none of the family are involved."

"You don't believe that any more than I do." Ginny replied, leaning into Harry as they walked along the street. "Someone we love has done this."

"Try not to think like that." Harry said, even though he was also thinking along the same lines as Ginny.

"It's hard not to." Ginny admitted. "I'm especially dreading tonight. I don't know if I can face everyone."

The couple were due to have an early tea at The Burrow. Since it was Friday, Harry was going out with the boys while Ginny was having the girls over for a night in.

"Come on Gin, it's just tea." Harry said. "Besides I doubt Ron will be there."

"You're convinced it's him aren't you?" Ginny looked up at Harry, wondering if she would see a flicker of doubt in her husband's face.

"It's the only thing that makes sense." Harry sighed. "But no, I'm not convinced. Something tells me that no matter how Ron feels about Malfoy he wouldn't hurt Hermione like this."

"That's what I think." Ginny nodded in agreement with her husband's conclusions. "But if it's not Ron, then who is it? Someone else doing this makes even less sense."

"Tell me about it." Harry muttered. "The whole thing is just crazy."

The couple lapsed into silence as they walked towards the nearest safe apparition point. When they got there they said their goodbyes and each of them apparated to work, agreeing to meet at The Burrow later that afternoon.

**…..**

Despite her reservations Ginny ended up having a good time at The Burrow. Bill and Fleur weren't there and neither were Percy and Audrey, leaving just Angelina, George and Charlie along with her and Harry and her parents. As soon as the meal was over Arthur disappeared into his shed to tinker with his latest muggle project while Charlie had also left, he had a hot date lined up for that night. Despite the fact they were going out later Harry and George settled down to have a drink while Ginny and Angelina got gossiping, the girls knew they would still have plenty to discuss later that night.

Molly had just joined the group in the front room when the floo activated and Ron burst from the flames.

"Ron you're back." Molly smiled. "There's some casserole left, I'll go and warm it up for you."

"No time." Ron gasped, sounding out of breath. "We have to go and save Hermione, she's in trouble."

"What do you mean, she's in trouble?" Angelina asked, immediately worrying about her friend.

"When I got back I tried to go round and see her, I wanted to check how she'd gotten on at the Healer's. I couldn't get through the floo and when I went round there was no answer at the door."

"They probably knew it was you and were hiding." George laughed, knowing exactly how to annoy his little brother.

"They weren't hiding." Ron snapped, glaring at George. "They weren't there. I'm telling you Malfoy's done something to her."

"Don't be silly, Draco's crazy about Hermione, he would never do anything to her." Angelina tutted at her brother-in-law.

"I think we should go and check on her." Molly said, backing up her youngest son. "You have a key, don't you Ginny?"

"Yes, I do." Ginny nodded. "But we don't need to use it."

"Of course we do." Ron exploded, yelling loudly at his sister. "We need to see if she's alright."

"She's perfectly fine." Ginny said calmly, ignoring Ron's outburst. "She and Draco have merely gone away for a while."

"How long for?" Molly asked.

"A few days." Harry shrugged. "I think they're planning on coming back late next week."

"Why didn't you stop them?" Ron yelled. "How could you let Hermione go away with Malfoy? She's not safe with him."

"Of course she's safe with him." Ginny snapped back at her brother. "She's safer with him, than she is here."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Molly asked her daughter.

"Nothing." Harry said quickly, shooting Ginny a look telling her to keep quiet. He didn't want to be throwing accusations around without proof and causing rifts in the family.

"I think it's time we left now." Ginny said to Harry as she stood up. "I've got guests coming round in a bit."

"We'll be off as well." Angelina said, getting George to help her get off the sofa.

"What about Hermione?" Ron asked, unable to believe his siblings weren't concerned with their friend's wellbeing.

"What about her?" Harry asked.

"Where is she?" Ron demanded. "I need to know she's safe."

"You don't need to know anything." Ginny seethed at her brother. "Hermione is perfectly fine with Draco and we don't know where they are."

Glaring at her brother one final time Ginny stormed to the fireplace and disappeared in a flash of smoke and flames. Angelina quickly followed her sister-in-law as she too headed home.

"Hey, if Draco is away are Theo, Blaise and Greg still coming tonight?" George asked Harry after their wives had departed.

"Of course they are." Harry said before he turned to Ron. "We're going for a drink tonight, do you want to come?" He asked, trying to alleviate some of the tension with his friend.

"I'm not spending time with a bunch of Slytherins." Ron spat. "We only put up with the slimy gits to keep Hermione happy."

"No, we don't." George shook his head. "They're our friends. We may have started hanging out with them because they're friends with Draco but now Theo, Greg and Blaise are part of our group."

"Well I'm still not spending my Friday with a bunch of snakes." Ron huffed. "I'm going to have some tea, then I'm going to look for Hermione. You might not be bothered about her, but I am."

"I'm worried about her as well." Molly said. "I'll help you look for her."

"You're wasting your time." Harry sighed. "Hermione and Draco are perfectly fine, they'll be back home at the end of the week."

"Should she really be gallivanting in her condition?" Molly said in concern. "She should be at home, surrounded by the people who care about her."

"Molly she's lost her memories, she's not ill." Harry told his mother-in-law. "And as for being surrounded by people that care, she's with Draco. There's no-one who cares about Hermione more than Draco."

At Harry's words Ron snorted in disgust and stomped into the kitchen. George rolled his eyes at his brother's dramatics before saying goodbye to his mother and heading home to get ready for his night out. Harry apologised to Molly for the dramatics as he himself headed home while Molly went into the kitchen to feed Ron.

**…..**

As he ate Ron continued to complain about Hermione's absence. He was outraged that no-one was concerned about her, well apart from his mother who was listening to his ramblings.

"I really should go and look for Hermione, but I have no idea where to start." Ron sighed once he was finished eating. "Malfoy probably has their floo under a privacy setting so I can't get any information from that."

"Is there any other way to trace them?" Molly asked anxiously.

"No." Ron shook his head. "Because Hermione's supposedly gone away willingly with him, I can't make any official requests to locate them. Even if I try and say there's something suspicious going on, Harry and Ginny will only contradict me."

"This is all my fault." Molly muttered, dropping her head into her hands. "Everything was supposed to be different, she wasn't meant to stay with him."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, looking at his mother in confusion.

"I was the one who gave Hermione the potion to take away her memories." Molly confessed in a whisper.

"What? Why?" Ron shouted. "What on earth did you hope to achieve?"

"I thought she would run to you, after all her last memories have her in a relationship with you." Molly explained. "I wanted to put things right, Hermione should be with you not Draco."

"How does taking her memories get her back with me?" Ron asked. "Yes, she ran to me but she already knew her memories were missing. She already realised she was involved with Malfoy."

"I didn't expect that bit to happen." Molly admitted. "But even so I never thought she would go back with him. I thought she would want nothing to do with him, giving you the perfect opportunity to regain her affections."

"It would have helped if I'd known about the plan." Ron grumbled. "How long have you been planning this anyway?"

"I first thought about it months ago, but when they got engaged I knew it was time to act." Molly told Ron.

"How do you even have the potion?" Ron asked.

"I have a prescription. It stops the nightmares about Fred." Molly explained.

"But you remember Fred's dead." Ron pointed out. "What exactly does the potion block?"

"The sight of him lying lifeless." Molly looked haunted as she thought about her son lying dead. "The image haunts my nights, so I take the potion to get rid of it. Obviously I know Fred's not here, but it takes away the pain of seeing him lying there and knowing he's never going to speak to me again."

"But you can still remember all this. Does the potion even work?"

"Of course it works." Molly tutted. "It took Hermione's memories didn't it? The reason I can remember is I stopped taking the potion when I came up with the plan. I've been stockpiling it so I had enough to give to Hermione."

"Mum, you should have told me what you were going to do." Ron sighed.

"Why? So you could talk me out of it?" Molly looked up at Ron. "I just wanted you to be happy. I know how much you still love Hermione and I just wanted to give you a second chance."

"I know." Ron smiled at him mother, knowing she had only done what she thought was right for him. "Unfortunately I never knew what was happening so I missed my chance to act."

"I can give you another chance." Molly said, an idea forming in her head. "When Hermione returns I can go and see her and slip her some more of the potion."

"You can't." Ron shook his head. "It won't work, she still has her memories of these past two weeks and next week will make it three. There's no way she'll come back to me now."

"When I re-brew the potion I can include these three weeks. Just like the first time Hermione will run to you, only this time you can be ready."

Ron looked at Molly, mulling over her suggestion. He knew that by agreeing to his mother's plan that he was putting his career as an Auror in jeopardy but the temptation to get Hermione back was just too strong.

"What happens after she comes to me?" Ron asked. "I'm not agreeing just yet, mind you." He added, not wanting to give Molly false hope.

"You run." Molly said simply. "Convince her it's best for you two to get away. I can give you a supply of the potion."

"That won't work for long." Ron pointed out. "She's going to know her memories are missing and start asking questions. The second she sees anyone else the whole thing will be blown apart."

"Then we don't let her see anyone else." Molly said. "Once you're away from here we can obliviate her and plant new memories in her head. It worked with Hermione's parents, so it can work with her."

"That means we'll never be able to return." Ron said. "Once we've gone, we're gone for good."

"I know." Molly reached over the table and grabbed Ron's hands in hers. "But you'll be happy. You and Hermione will be together, like you were always meant to be. Just knowing you're happy is enough for me."

Ron looked at Molly, knowing it would be so easy to tell her they weren't going to give Hermione any more potion. That way no-one would ever know Molly had been the culprit and she would be safe from anyone discovering her secret. He also knew it would be easy to give her the go-ahead as well. That way everyone would think he had taken Hermione's memories and considering he would be long gone he would never be punished.

"We'll do it." Ron said, making a decision. A life with Hermione by his side was worth giving up the boring life he had now, he might miss his family but him and Hermione could create their own family.

Molly smiled widely at her son and the two Weasley's set about making plans to steal Hermione away from Draco.


	23. Cosy Cottage

**A/N - Wow, the response to the previous chapter was amazing and I want to thank everyone who left me a review. I just want to reiterate that these next few chapters are pure Draco and Hermione. After a few chapters of fluff from the couple, they will return home and things will progress further with the investigation into Hermione's memory loss.**

* * *

Hermione emerged from the fireplace into a large but cosy front room. There was a large front window looking out onto a small but neat front garden, with magnificent views of the countryside behind it. One wall was dominated by the large fireplace she had just emerged from while the wall opposite was a giant bookshelf, holding hundreds of books. In the centre of the room sat a large white sofa, with a glass coffee table in front of it. There was several more tables and cabinets dotted around the room but Hermione noticed the lack of television, the room was clearly designed for relaxing in peace and quiet.

"Do you like it?" Draco asked. He had emerged from the fire seconds after Hermione, placing their luggage on the floor he had watched her look around the room.

"I love it." Hermione replied. "It's so quiet and peaceful."

"It is, this is where we come when we just want to relax and forget the rest of the world exists." Draco explained. "Do you want to see the rest of the place?" He asked.

Hermione nodded and followed Draco out of the only door in the room into a small hallway. Directly opposite the door they had emerged from was another door while to the right of them stood the front door and to the left was a winding staircase. For the time being Draco ignored the stairs and led Hermione through the other door in the hallway.

The room they entered was nearly as big as the front room, only it was separated into a kitchen and small dining area. The kitchen reminded Hermione very much of the one at home, it was light and airy with plenty of room for when she wanted to cook. In the dining area was a large glass cabinet that held the dinnerware and glasses while the table was the perfect size for two people. Looking around the downstairs area of the cottage Hermione got the distinct impression no-one but her and Draco ever visited the place.

After checking out the kitchen facilities a bit more Hermione followed Draco as he returned to the hallway and led her up the stairs. Hermione was totally amazed when they reached the top of the staircase to find it led out into the corner of an exceptionally large bedroom. At the far end of the room was a door Hermione guessed led to the bathroom, she was also guessing the room took up the entire top floor.

The back wall was all glass, giving yet another stunning view of the countryside. Like the front room there was no sight of any entertainment facilities, instead just plenty of places to relax. Up against one wall was a big bed, covered in green silk sheets and a comfy looking sofa sat in front of the large window. Unlike the bedroom at home that had a walk-in wardrobe this bedroom housed a normal style wardrobe, made from a pale wood, and two matching sets of drawers.

Walking across the room Hermione opened the door that led to the bathroom. The bathroom was decorated in pale blue and it's most eye-catching feature was a large sunken bathtub in the middle of the room. There was a classy looking shower in the corner but Hermione had a feeling that it didn't get used much, not with such an amazing bathtub in the room.

"This is amazing." Hermione said, turning back to the bedroom. "I've never seen the entire top floor converted to one room before."

"No-one else ever visits here so it seemed pointless having spare rooms." Draco shrugged. "There was even a few more rooms down stairs originally but we decided to convert the whole thing into large rooms that we would actually use. It's a better way to utilise the space, rather than having rooms that go untouched from visit to visit."

"I think it's brilliant." Hermione said, walking over to the window and admiring the view.

"I'm pleased you like it." Draco smiled. "I'll get your bag and you can get settled in."

"What about you?" Hermione asked, suddenly realising that with one bedroom and one bedroom things were about to get much more intimate between them.

"I can sleep downstairs." Draco said. "The sofa's pretty comfortable."

"Don't be stupid, you can sleep up here." Hermione said, trying not to sound as apprehensive as she felt at the thought of sharing a bed with Draco. "The bed's more than big enough for us both."

"Are you sure?" Draco asked. "I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

"I'll be uncomfortable if you sleep downstairs." Hermione replied. "Besides, it's not as if I'm suggesting we actually do anything. I still don't think I'm ready."

"I keep telling you Hermione, I'm not going to pressure you." Draco walked over to Hermione and brushed her hair from her eyes. "We can move at whatever speed you want."

Hermione smiled as she wrapped her arms around Draco's neck and pulled him down so their lips were inches apart. "Thank you for being so understanding." She whispered before closing the gap between their lips.

Draco tangled his left hand in Hermione's hair as his right one settled on her hip. Hermione inched forward, closing the gap between their bodies. Feeling Hermione pressed against him after so long Draco moaned and deepened the kiss. Hermione eagerly responded to the kiss as one of her hands found their way into Draco's hair. After a couple of minutes Hermione pulled back, completely out of breath.

"I'll go and get the bags." Draco said, backing away slowly. He respected Hermione's need to take things slow but many more kisses like that and he was really going to struggle with being so close to her and being unable to touch her properly.

While Draco was getting the bags Hermione turned back to the window, trying to compose herself. The kiss had sent a torrent of emotions through her and she already couldn't imagine herself lasting the entire week without falling into bed with Draco. The passion she felt when they kissed was electric and she could only imagine how much more intense it would be when they made love.

At the sound of Draco returning to the room Hermione turned round. Draco handed Hermione her case and the pair of them unpacked, chatting about what they were going to do that day. Draco suggested they spent the day exploring the surrounding area and Hermione was more than happy to agree.

**…..**

Hermione sang softly to herself as she prepared dinner, she was making spaghetti. She and Draco had spent the entire day exploring Windermere, which was where the cottage was located. They had visited the shops, had a boat ride and eaten lunch at a lovely pub.

After checking the pasta and sauce were doing okay, Hermione turned to set the table when a stick of wood in the corner caught her eye. Walking over to the back door, Hermione stood and looked at Draco's broom propped up beside the door. Hermione had actually forgotten what Ginny and Angelina had told her about flying, until she saw the broom. Looking at the piece of wood Hermione still found it hard to believe she actually enjoyed flying.

"I can take you for a spin one time if you want."

Hermione turned round to find Draco leaning up against the kitchen counter, watching her as she examined his broom.

"I'm not sure." Hermione said hesitantly. "Ginny and Angelina said I don't mind flying these days but I'm not convinced."

"The offer's there." Draco shrugged. "I'm not going to push you into accepting it but you do normally enjoy it."

"How long did it take you to convince me to give it a try?" Hermione asked, heading over to the table and beginning to set it.

"Not long actually." Draco said, moving to help Hermione with the table. "I suggested it a couple of times and you said no but one weekend you asked me if you could accompany me when I was heading out for a fly."

"I asked you?" Hermione gasped, totally amazed that she had been the one who had made the final move.

"Yeah, you said you'd been thinking about it since the first time I asked you." Draco replied.

As Hermione began draining the pasta and putting it onto the plates she asked a few more questions about flying. Draco confirmed she would only fly with him, just like the girls said. He also said they never went far, their trips were relatively short and he never flew very fast. Hermione was quite relived with the last detail as she had noticed the previous Sunday that Draco flew the fastest out of the entire group that were playing Quidditch, he'd admitted to her later that day that he loved the speed and would often go flying just to see how fast he could go.

Hermione finished off the dinner and placed it on the table as Draco grabbed a bottle of wine and poured them both a glass.

"What do you want to do tomorrow?" Draco asked as they sat down.

"Why don't we do some things we would normally do together. I'd quite like to see what we do in our spare time." Hermione replied.

"Okay, leave the whole day up to me." Draco said, mentally running through some things they could do the following day. "Although soon enough you'll be able to remember this all for yourself."

"That reminds me, I've been meaning to ask you about my memories returning. Will they return in chronological order or will they return randomly?"

"I think they'll return randomly." Draco replied. "Normally the Healers are the ones in control of the memories returning. After the first dose of potion they then give another one, leaving out a memory. They then repeat the process until all the memories are fully restored."

"So you really have no idea about how my memories will return?" Hermione asked.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I wish I could give you more answers, but the potion was never meant to be administered in this way." Draco explained. "It's either used to take something away without ever intending on returning it or returning painful memories slowly, enabling people to cope with what has happened to them."

"It's not your fault Draco." Hermione said. "You weren't to know someone would misuse the potion in this way."

"I wasn't, but I'm going to make sure it's never used like this again." Draco said determinedly. "I'm going to make sure the only people administering it are Healers, I'm not going to let them prescribe it to people anymore. It's clearly not safe to let people administer it themselves."

"Can you control how the Healers use it?" Hermione asked.

"Not really, but I can stop supplying them. The potion is my creation and the method has never being released. If I stop supplying them, then there's nothing they can do about it."

"That would be a shame." Hermione sighed. "It sounds like your potion has actually helped a lot of people. It would be a shame if those people lost out on help because of one person's selfish actions."

"Hopefully it won't come to that." Draco sighed.

Leaving behind the topic of Hermione's memory loss and Draco's potion, the couple spent the rest of the meal talking about their day and some of the other things they could do for the rest of the week. Once dinner was over the couple retired into the front room where they both picked a book and settled down to quietly read.

Hermione thoroughly enjoyed the experience of reading in peace, without being constantly interrupted by the other person in the room. Whenever Hermione had tried to read in Ron's presence her ex had constantly badgered her. Since Ron wasn't a big reader he had always struggled to just relax with Hermione when she wanted to spend the night reading. That obviously wasn't a problem with Draco as he was just as happy as her to spend the night reading.

"I think it's time I went to bed, I'm exhausted." Hermione yawned, a little before eleven o'clock.

"Okay. I'm just going to finish this chapter then I'll be up." Draco responded. Normally he would have just finished reading where he was and accompany Hermione to bed but with the current situation he wanted to give her some time to get sorted.

Hermione smiled and headed for the bedroom, she suspected what Draco was doing and was grateful for giving her some space. Digging out her new pyjamas Hermione headed into the bathroom where she got ready for bed. The pyjamas were a pair of long trousers and a tank top but Hermione was satisfied they were respectable enough to be seen in.

Hermione had just settled into bed when Draco arrived in the room. He went over to his drawers and pulled out something Hermione couldn't see before heading into the bathroom himself. When he came out ten minutes later, wearing just a pair of dark blue pyjama bottoms, Hermione couldn't help but stare at his impressive torso.

"I can put a t-shirt on if you're uncomfortable." Draco offered. Normally when Hermione looked at him the way she was doing he would be offering to take off clothes rather than put them on but he wanted to be sure that she didn't feel he was trying to rush her into something she wasn't ready for.

"No, it's fine." Hermione said.

Draco crossed the room and climbed into bed next to Hermione. Using his wand he doused the lights and the couple settled down to sleep. Hermione fell asleep almost immediately but it took Draco slightly longer to drop off. Draco was itching to reach across the bed and pull Hermione into his arms but he refrained, reminding himself that even if they weren't touching he was still back in bed with his fiancée. Comforted by Hermione's presence in the bed, Draco eventually fell asleep.


	24. Getting Closer

Draco lay in bed, happily watching the woman next to him sleep. While he was pleased to be back sleeping next to Hermione, he was slightly apprehensive about when she woke. Enough progress between them had been made since her memories had first disappeared to reassure Draco that she wouldn't react the same way as she did that first morning but he was still unsure of how she would react to being so close to him.

When he had first awoken, nearly an hour ago, Draco discovered that over the course of the night he and Hermione had gravitated towards each other and his fiancée was firmly wrapped in his arms. Having Hermione pressed up against him after so long had also had a more physical effect on Draco so he had gently tried to put a bit more distance between them, after promising Hermione he wasn't going to rush her he didn't want her waking up and getting the wrong idea. However when Draco had tried to change his position in bed he had accidently disturbed Hermione and she had changed position. Now instead of having her back pressed against him Hermione was snuggled right up beside him, her hand on his chest and the feeling of her even breathing on his neck.

Ten minutes later Draco was still quite happily lying watching Hermione when she began to stir. Watching carefully for her reaction Draco watched as her eyes flickered open and she stretched a bit. Surprisingly Hermione didn't seem bothered by the fact she was wrapped around Draco, after she had stretched she merely lay back down beside him with her hand on his chest.

"Hi." Draco said softly, running his hand through her hair. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah." Hermione nodded before she looked up. "Did you?"

"Better than I have in a while." Draco replied. The bed in the spare room was pretty comfortable but it didn't compare to his own bed or more importantly sleeping next to Hermione.

"I'm sorry." Hermione said. "I feel bad for kicking you out of your own bed."

"Don't be, you needed some space." Draco smiled at Hermione.

"I don't think I need space anymore." Hermione said, turning her attention to her hand that was resting on Draco's chest. "I rather like waking up next to you."

Draco smiled and gently raised Hermione's head so she was looking at him again. "Good, because I love waking up next to you."

Draco dipped his head and pressed his lips against Hermione's. Right from the start the entire kiss was more passion filled than any of their others. Hermione pressed herself right up against Draco as her hand explored his chest, gradually snaking lower over his abdomen. Draco also let his own hand wander down Hermione's body, running it down her side the hand eventually came to a stop on a bare patch of skin where her pyjama top had ridden up slightly.

Hermione could feel Draco's hand on her bare skin as they kissed. She desperately wanted him to move his hand further up her body but she didn't quite have the courage to ask him. When Draco suddenly broke the kiss Hermione began to protest, but it soon turned into a moan as his lips descended onto her neck. Angling her head to give Draco better access Hermione pressed herself closer to him. Suddenly feeling his arousal pressed against her upper leg, Hermione's eyes flew open and she gasped.

Draco immediately stopped what he was doing and looked at Hermione, wondering if he had pushed her too far. He had just opened his mouth to check she was okay when Hermione started muttering to herself.

"Ginny was right." Hermione muttered.

"What was Ginny right about?" Draco asked.

Hermione's eyes widened as she realised Draco had heard her and she immediately turned bright red as she recalled her friends brazen comment a few days earlier. "Nothing." She mumbled.

"I don't believe you." Draco grinned. "Come on it has to be something good to have you that red."

"She said that sharing a bed with me would make you hard." Hermione whispered, shyly watching Draco's reaction.

For a second Draco looked shocked but he then smiled before he started laughing. "She actually told you that."

"Yes, right in the middle of a shop." Hermione said, smiling slightly.

"She has no shame, that one." Draco laughed.

"She is a bit forward." Hermione admitted. "Although she's always been that way. I know more about Harry and what he likes in bed then I actually care to know."

"Clearly she knows the same about me." Draco said.

Hermione blushed again. "You have no idea. Last week she told me all sorts of things."

"Really?" Draco cocked an eyebrow. "What did she tell you?"

Hermione vigorously shook her head as she sat up. "I might tell you another time."

"Spoilsport." Draco teased, also sitting up. "I suppose we should get up, I've got a busy day planned."

"What are we doing?" Hermione asked.

"It's a surprise." Draco grinned at Hermione. "Why don't you go and use the bathroom first. I can wait till you're finished."

Hermione agreed and jumped off the bed to gather her clothes. She then headed into the bathroom to get ready for the day ahead.

**…..**

By the time Hermione and Draco returned to the cottage, later that day, Hermione was looking forward to a relaxing evening in. When Draco then told her he wanted to take her out for dinner Hermione didn't have the heart to refuse. Instead she headed to the bathroom and sunk into a nice relaxing bath to refresh herself. While she was lying soaking in the bubbles, she thought about the day they had just had and how much she had enjoyed herself.

After a quick breakfast Draco had apparated the pair of them to Paris. Hermione was shocked as she expected them to stay in the UK, but as Draco pointed out the time difference with France was pretty minimal and didn't really affect their day. Draco had then taken her to the Louvre, which was where they had spent the entire morning. After having lunch in a small French bistro Draco then apparated them to their next destination, Edinburgh. Up in Scotland the couple had headed to the largest wizarding museum in the world, which was where they stayed until it was time to return home.

Hermione had thoroughly enjoyed the day of culture and she couldn't help but compare the day to the one time she and Ron had visited a few museums in London. Hermione knew she was probably being unfair to constantly be comparing Ron and Draco, but Ron was her only frame of reference as a past relationship so it was only natural she compared what she remembered with Ron to what she was experiencing with Draco.

When Ron had accompanied her to London he had spent the entire day complaining and asking when they were returning home. In the end Hermione had given in and returned back to The Burrow with Ron. Her day with Draco however was vastly different, unlike Ron he never complained once and he was just as interested in the exhibits as she was. Considering Hermione had never visited the wizarding museum she wasn't surprised that Draco knew more than her but she was shocked to find he was also really knowledgeable about the exhibits in the Louvre.

Getting out of the bubbles and drying herself and her hair Hermione turned her attention to getting ready for dinner. Hermione pulled on a dressing gown that was hanging on the back of the door and headed into the bedroom. Draco was sitting on the sofa looking out of the window and when she emerged from the bathroom he picked up his clothes for the night and headed into the bathroom to get ready.

Before she headed for a bath Hermione had already picked out a dress but she still needed to find some underwear and accessories. Hermione sorted through the underwear she had brought with her, looking for something suitable. While most of it was her more modest sets she had thrown in a few sexier sets on a whim, something she was now extremely grateful for. While she still wasn't planning on getting far enough into things with Draco for him to actually see her underwear, just knowing she was wearing something slightly sexier underneath her dress was a confidence booster for Hermione. Picking up a lacy green set she slipped the underwear on before turning to the wardrobe. Hermione had already decided on a moss green floor length dress, she already had an inkling of how much Draco liked seeing her in green so she was hoping for a positive response to her outfit. When she was dressed Hermione slipped on a pair of black heels. She then sorted her hair and make-up and added a diamond teardrop necklace and matching teardrop earrings.

By the time Hermione was dressed Draco had also finished and he entered the bedroom just as Hermione had finished putting on her necklace. Turning round to greet him Hermione couldn't help but smile as Draco appreciatively scanned her outfit before smiling at her.

"You look gorgeous." He said.

"I'm pleased you like it." Hermione smiled. "Something tells me you like seeing me in green so I wore it specially."

"Well it's much appreciated." Draco smirked, walking towards Hermione and stopping inches in front of her. "I love seeing you in green. Was that one of the things Ginny told you?"

"I worked it out for myself the night my parents visited." Hermione said. "You looked rather affected by my appearance."

"I'm always affected by you." Draco said, running his finger over Hermione's cheek.

Hermione shivered at the contact, starting to feel rather affected herself. "We should go before we get distracted."

Draco's eyes lit up as Hermione mentioned getting distracted but he didn't argue as Hermione grabbed her bag. Draco then apparated them both to a nearby restaurant, despite them being in mainly muggle surroundings the restaurant was magical. Draco and Hermione's table was near the back of the room and was very private, enabling the couple to chat happily without the worry that anyone might overhear them. On a whole Hermione's memory loss had been confined to their immediate friends and family and with an end hopefully in sight they didn't want anyone else to find out about it.

"Can I ask you something?" Hermione asked after the waiter had delivered the desserts.

"You can ask me anything." Draco replied.

"How much have we spoke about children?" Hermione asked. "Ginny says it's something we've talked about but she didn't know a great deal about it."

"It is something we've talked about, quite a lot actually. The reason we bought the house was so we could start a family in the near future."

"How near?" Hermione questioned.

"Pretty much as soon as we're married." Draco admitted. "We decided on a short engagement then we would start trying for a baby straight after the wedding."

"So we're not trying yet?"

"No." Draco shook his head. "Why? Were you worried you would have a pregnancy to deal with on top of everything else?"

"No, I was just wondering about the potion and if it would have any side effects on a pregnant woman." Hermione explained.

"The potions perfectly safe for pregnant women." Draco reassured Hermione.

"Good, now back to the questions. Have we discussed how many children we want?"

"Yeah." Draco nodded. "Since we were both only children we decided that we wanted more than one. But we also decided that we didn't want too many, maybe three at the most."

"That sounds good." Hermione agreed. "I always hated being an only child, I never had anyone to play with. Mind you, part of that was because I was always reading and learning new stuff and wasn't really interested in playing with dolls and stuff."

"I actually liked been an only child. But I was rather spoilt and always got my own way."

"Really, I never would have guessed." Hermione laughed.

"Shocking isn't it." Draco laughed along with Hermione. "Who would have ever thought I was spoilt?"

Hermione and Draco continued to talk about their different childhoods as they finished their dessert and Draco paid the bill. Holding onto Hermione, Draco apparated them back to the cottage, where they landed in the middle of the front room.

"Thank you for today, it's been amazing." Hermione smiled.

"I'm pleased you enjoyed it." Draco smiled back.

"I have." Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco's neck and pulled him closer to her. "And I've really enjoyed spending time with you."

"See, I'm not all that bad." He teased with a smile.

"You're not bad at all." Hermione whispered, pressing her lips against Draco's.

Draco wrapped his arms around Hermione and pulled her closer as his tongue sought entrance to Hermione's mouth. Opening her mouth to allow Draco access Hermione unravelled one of her hands from around his neck and trailed it over his chest. The top few buttons of Draco's shirt were already open so all Hermione had to do was pop open a few more to allow her hand to roam over his chest. Draco moaned quietly as Hermione's nails gently raked over skin, his mind immediately remembering all the times she had scratched and clawed at him in the heat of passion.

As he began kissing down Hermione's neck, Draco let his hands begin to wander. While one hand remained in her hair, keeping her head where he wanted it, his other hand snaked down her back. Hermione shivered as she felt Draco's hand slowly make its way down her back to her bottom. When his hand stroked her firm bum Hermione couldn't help but moan and press herself closer into him.

Draco continued to kiss Hermione for a few more minutes before he reluctantly pulled away. When Hermione looked up at him in confusion, her brown eyes swimming with lust, it took all his willpower not to continue on with their activities.

"Did I do something wrong?" Hermione asked.

"Hell, no." Draco exclaimed. "It's just if we keep doing that I'm not sure I'll be able to keep my promise to take things slow. It's getting to the point where all I want to do is rip that dress off you and take you right here and now."

Hermione gulped and her eyes widened at Draco's confession. She was still struggling to believe that she had such an effect on the former Slytherin and whenever he alluded to it she felt a combination of pride and worry. She was quite proud that she could make someone as attractive as Draco fall at her feet but it was also making her wonder if she would be a disappointment to him when things did progress. Until her memories returned Hermione had no knowledge of her experiences with Draco, all she could remember was her time with Ron.

"I haven't upset you, have I?" Draco asked when Hermione didn't respond.

"No." Hermione shook her head. "I'm just sorry, I'm not ready yet."

"Don't be. I can wait." Draco gave Hermione a brief peck in reassurance. "Now why don't we head to bed? I don't know about you, but I'm actually pretty tired. International apparition always takes it out of me."

Hermione wasn't sure if Draco was really tired or if he was just trying to make her feel better but either way she didn't object to his idea and the couple headed off to bed.


	25. Memories

**A/N - This chapter is slightly different as it it split over several days. This chapter also features two things I know people have been waiting to happen, Hermione makes some progress with her memories and there is some action on the sex front with the couple. Enjoy the chapter, the next one is the couple's return home and the drama that awaits them there.**

* * *

After their previous days trips to Paris and Edinburgh, Draco and Hermione decided to spend their Sunday relaxing in Windermere. After a late start the couple had taken a long walk and had lunch at a cosy pub. They had then spent another hour in the pub before heading off again, ending up by the lake.

The couple were planning on having a boat ride later in the afternoon but for the time being they were happy to sit by the lake, feeding the birds. Draco had purchased a bag of food from a nearby shop and was currently on the water's edge, feeding some baby ducks. Hermione had stayed on the nearby bench watching him. When Hermione spotted a swan emerging from the water near to where Draco was feeding the ducklings a strange feeling overtook her.

All of a sudden Hermione could picture herself getting ice-creams from a nearby van. It was clearly the height of summer as she was wearing shorts and a strappy top while the place was packed with tourists. Hermione then turned to return to the lake, where Draco was feeding the ducks. As she approached Draco, Hermione heard a yell and a commotion. Hurrying forward she found Draco swearing and shouting at a nearby swan, while clutching his hand. Blood was dripping from his hand and when Hermione asked what happened he announced the swan had bitten him.

Just as suddenly as it came the strange vision lifted and Hermione was left with her first memory. Beaming widely she got up and made her way towards Draco, he had now spotted the swan and was watching it warily.

"Careful, it might bite." She said with glee.

Draco whirled round at her words, immediately noticing the excitement bubbling around her. "You remember?"

"Yes." Hermione smiled widely. "I can remember you getting bitten by a swan."

"Why did that have to be your first memory?" Draco grumbled. "Could you not have remembered a time when I wasn't humiliating myself?"

"Are you not happy my memories are returning?" Hermione pouted. "Maybe the next one will show you in a less wussy light."

"Wussy?" Draco questioned. "I was not wussy."

"You were." Hermione giggled. "You were like a little toddler having a strop. Even the kids nearby were laughing at you."

"It hurt." Draco protested. "Bloody swan."

"Poor thing." Hermione moved so she had her arms wrapped around Draco's neck. "Did I kiss it better?"

Draco couldn't help but smirk as he remembered exactly how Hermione had cheered him up after the swan incident. He knew she didn't remember the afternoon of explosive sex that followed him being bitten, but clearly she had a good enough grasp on how their relationship worked to know what would have happened.

"You did more than that." Draco replied with a wink.

Hermione laughed and dipped her head slightly. She still got embarrassed by mentions of their sex life but she was slowly gaining confidence and getting her first memory was helping tremendously.

"Oh, and I am pleased your memories are returning." Draco said, answering Hermione's earlier question. "It's brilliant."

"It is isn't it?" Hermione beamed. "Do you think any more will come today?"

"I don't know." Draco shrugged. "Why don't we just enjoy the rest of the day and wait and see."

**…..**

Hermione's next memory didn't surface until the next afternoon. It was a rainy Monday so Draco and Hermione had decided to spend the day lounging around the house. They had spent all morning in bed talking, along with a fair bit of kissing and heavy petting, but after lunch Hermione had decided to make some cookies. While Hermione was busy in the kitchen Draco had settled down in the front room with a book.

Hermione had just removed her last tray from the oven and settled them down on the bench when she suddenly had the image of Crookshanks in her head. Crookshanks was lying in his basket and Hermione was kneeling beside him, stroking him and crying. Hermione continued to stroke her cat and cry, until a hand appeared on her shoulder. Turning round she found Draco standing behind her with a saddened expression. He then helped her up and let her cry in his arms as he comforted her.

As the vision cleared Hermione was left shaking and crying softly. It was only just occurring to her that throughout this whole thing she had never given Crookshanks a second thought, she had never once wondered where her beloved pet was. Maybe deep down she knew he was gone so avoided asking about him but she still felt guilty that he was dead and she hadn't even noticed before now.

Pushing herself away from the counter Hermione padded into the front room. Draco was lying on the sofa, reading his book, and all Hermione wanted was for him to comfort her like he did in her memory. Draco looked up when she entered the room but before he had a chance to get up or ask her what was wrong she had crawled onto the sofa with him and curled up in his arms.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked, gently stroking Hermione's hair. He could feel her tears soaking through his shirt and wondered if a memory had returned and it was a bad one.

"Crookshanks." Hermione sniffed, not lifting her head.

Draco nodded in understanding, feeling bad that he hadn't thought about the cat before now. When Crookshanks had died Hermione had been devastated and he was kicking himself for not preparing her for his death.

"What happened?" Hermione raised her head slightly so she could see Draco. "I can remember him dying at home and you comforting me after but I don't know why he died."

"He was ill." Draco said. "He'd been off his food so we took him to get checked out. We were told he had a rare magical disease that affected his blood and because of his old age he was unable to fight it. All the Medi-Vets could do was put him to sleep, it was kinder than letting him suffer. Rather than do it there and then you wanted some more time with him, they gave us a potion to give to him and we went home so he could die in his own bed."

"I feel so bad. I didn't even remember to ask about him." Hermione sniffed, more tears falling as she thought of how neglectful she had been.

"Maybe when he wasn't around you subconsciously knew he was dead and didn't want to deal with the pain of asking." Draco suggested. "I'm just sorry I didn't think about him to be able to warn you."

"It's not your fault." Hermione said. "When did he die?"

"Just over four years ago, we'd been together about a year when it happened." Draco explained.

"Thank you for being there for me."

"I'll always be there for you."

Draco kissed the top of Hermione's head as the couple lapsed into silence. They lay like that for several hours as Hermione dealt with the loss of Crookshanks and they exchanged stories about the grumpy cat.

**…..**

"We don't have to, if you're too nervous." Draco told Hermione.

"I'm not." Hermione insisted, even though her nerves were definitely staring to get the better of her.

The couple were currently standing in the back garden with Draco's broom. After her memory of Crookshanks had returned the previous afternoon a few more memories had returned. One of the memories that had appeared in Hermione's head that morning was flying with Draco. In the memory she had thoroughly enjoyed the experience, especially the close proximity to the handsome blond, and she suggested they give flying a try. However now it was time to mount the broom she was suddenly doubting her decision.

While he was waiting for Hermione to make a final decision Draco mounted the broom, flew slowly round the yard once before landing in front of his fiancée. When Hermione nodded resolutely at him Draco scooted back and helped Hermione climb on in front of him. Making sure Hermione was secure Draco moved so he was pressed right up against her back as he wrapped his arms around Hermione and grasped the front of the broom.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

Hermione nodded and Draco kicked up and the broom rose steadily into the air. Hermione gasped at the sensation but Draco whispered soothing words into her ear until she visible relaxed. Once she was settled Draco began to steer them away from the house and into the countryside. Hermione wasn't worried about muggles seeing them as Draco had already explained the broom had a sophisticated concealing charm on it. For nearly fifteen minutes Draco flew them around, before he landed on the top of a hill.

"Well, what do you think?" Draco asked, helping Hermione off the broom.

"It's actually fun." Hermione admitted. "The views are amazing."

"They are round here." Draco said. "It's one of the best places for flying."

Taking off his jacket Draco transfigured it into a blanket, which he spread on the grass. Lying down on it Draco pulled Hermione down next to him and the couple lay in silence, enjoying the late afternoon sun.

As they were lying in silence Hermione was suddenly struck with another memory vision. However unlike her other memories this one was the first one that dealt with her and Draco's sex life, she'd had a few visions where they had kissed but never anything more than that. This memory however was strictly X-rated. The memory looked to take place in Draco's study as he was sitting on his chair while Hermione was straddling his lap. Hermione was wearing her school uniform, although it was in complete disarray. Her skirt was bunched up around her waist as she rode Draco, her shirt and bra were completely open, revealing her firm breasts with a Slytherin tie dangling between them.

Hermione gasped at both the memory and the feelings it was producing to her. Turning her head she found Draco watching her curiously, it was only then she realised her breathing was ragged and she was probably noticeably flustered.

"Is everything okay?" Draco asked.

"Another memory." Hermione replied.

"Looks interesting." Draco smirked. He could tell by Hermione's reaction that whatever memory had returned that it was a good one.

"It was." Hermione said. Over the last few days things had gradually been getting more heated between her and Draco and with her new memory she suddenly felt ready to take the final step with him.

"Are you going to tell me about it?" Draco asked.

"It was just a flash." Hermione replied. "But it was definitely interesting."

"What sort of interesting?" Draco queried, wondering if what she had remembered had been some of their wilder moments.

"Interesting as in it's something I might explore later, but not yet." Hermione replied. "But I do think I'm ready."

"Are you sure?" Draco was immediately at full attention at Hermione's words, he was already quite affected by riding a broom with her and her words now had him anticipating a fun night ahead.

"Yes." Hermione nodded before leaning over and kissing Draco briefly. "Take me back to the cottage."

Draco pulled Hermione back down into a more passionate kiss before he released her and gathered up the blanket, returning it to its natural state as his jacket. Grabbing his broom as well he gestured for Hermione to hold his hand.

"I don't think I can comfortably ride back." He said at Hermione's questioning look.

Hermione couldn't resist glancing down at Draco, noticing a noticeable bulge in his trousers she blushed and grabbed his hand. Draco chuckled at her coyness as he pulled her close and apparated them straight into the bedroom. Throwing his jacket and broom onto the sofa Draco leant down and engaged Hermione in a slow, sensual kiss.

Breaking the kiss Draco pulled back and looked at Hermione before slowly grabbing onto her jumper and pulling it over her head. The second her jumper was off Hermione felt self-conscious and her arms automatically came up to cover her bra covered chest.

"Don't." Draco said softly, reaching out and removing her arms away from her chest. "You don't have to hide from me."

"I know." Hermione admitted. "But apart from that one steamy memory of us, I have no idea how to be the same person you know. I'm not wild and adventurous and my knowledge of sex is pretty basic."

"It doesn't matter." Draco said, brushing his thumb over Hermione's cheek as he cupped her face in his hand. "The wild and adventurous side of your nature developed over time. Until your memories come back properly we can start from scratch."

"What if I disappoint you?" Hermione whispered.

"You've never disappointed me and you never will." Draco told Hermione, giving her another deep kiss.

When the kiss ended Hermione wriggled out of her jeans and crawled onto the bed while Draco shed himself of his jumper and trousers. Hermione lay in the centre of the bed, watching with both trepidation and anticipation as Draco got onto the bed and moved up it so he was hovering over her. Hesitantly she reached out and ran her hand down his torso, feeling the muscles ripple under her touch.

While Hermione's hand was exploring Draco bent down and began to lick and kiss at Hermione's neck, gradually working his way around her collarbone and to the top of her chest. When his hand came up to cup Hermione's breast through her lacy bra she shuddered and moaned softly, her own hand coming to a halt on his stomach. Draco teased and caressed Hermione's breasts through her bra, until her nipples were fully erect and she was panting for him to touch her flesh.

Arching her back Hermione unhooked her bra and watched as Draco peeled it off her and carelessly tossed it to the floor. Hermione's entire focus was on Draco and she couldn't help but smile as his eyes darkened and he visibly swallowed when her breasts were revealed to him. Hermione was still in awe of the way Draco looked at her as though she was a goddess, she struggled to get her head around any man wanting her that badly. When Draco dipped his head to her chest and took one of her nipples into his mouth Hermione let her head fall back onto the pillow, enjoying the attention Draco was showering her body with.

Hermione lost herself in the moment and the feelings Draco was creating and she was taken slightly by surprise when she felt Draco beginning to remove her knickers. Opening her eyes she was surprised to find him in between her legs. By the expert way he manoeuvred her out of her underwear and was sensually kissing up her inner leg Hermione figured they had been in this situation before. Hermione however could never remember anything like this as Ron had never shown an interest in oral sex, unless he was the one receiving it.

"I don't have to if you're uncomfortable." Draco said, looking up at Hermione. He had noticed she had tensed up suddenly and he remembered how nervous she had been the first time he had done this.

"I just can't remember doing anything like this." Hermione said quietly, looking totally unsure all of a sudden.

Draco pulled himself up so he was lying next to Hermione. Pushing her hair away from her eyes he gently pressed his lips against hers. He continued kissing her for several minutes, until she was eagerly responding.

"Don't think." Draco whispered, pressing soft kisses to Hermione's jawline and up towards her ear. "Just feel. Stop thinking about what you can and can't remember and just do what comes naturally."

"Okay." Hermione whispered back. "But I think we've had enough foreplay, can we get on with it now."

Draco chuckled at Hermione's request as he pushed off his boxers. Hermione's eyes immediately fell to Draco's manhood and she bit her lip with anticipation of having it buried inside her. Draco had been watching Hermione's reaction and he couldn't help but smirk as he positioned himself at her entrance.

Leaning down he once again caught Hermione's lips with his as he gently pushed inside her. Hermione moaned into the kiss and Draco stilled to regain his control, he was sure Hermione had high expectations and he didn't want to disappoint her by finishing in seconds. When he had himself under control Draco began to slowly and steadily make love to Hermione.

For her part Hermione tried to do what Draco said and turn off her brain, instead giving into her instincts. Hermione's instincts soon had her clawing at Draco's back and begging him to go faster and harder. Giving Hermione a wicked smirk Draco obeyed his fiancée, upping the tempo of their movements. What started off slow and steady soon became hot and frenzied as the couple raced towards their climaxes.

Feeling himself getting near to completion Draco snaked a hand in between him and Hermione as he reconnected their lips and kissed her passionately. Draco's fingers expertly brought Hermione to climax and she cried out her fiancé's name as she exploded around him. Hermione pulsing around him sent Draco over the edge and he climaxed with Hermione's name falling repeatedly from his lips.

Collapsing onto the bed beside Hermione, Draco gave her a quick kiss before gathering her in his arms. While they recovered from their activities the couple talked quietly, both about what had just transpired and what would happen once they returned home in a few days' time.


	26. A Wicked Scheme

"I'm going to miss this place." Hermione sighed, looking around the cottage that had been home for just under a week. "I rather like it being just the two of us."

"So do I." Draco agreed, dropping the bags beside the fireplace. "But it's time to go home and see what's going on."

After the re-emergence of their sexual relationship on Tuesday Hermione and Draco were practically back to normal. Hermione was still slightly timid in the bedroom but with each passing encounter she was feeling more confident. Her memories still hadn't fully returned but she was now getting four and five flashes a day and information was just gradually creeping back in her head.

"Do you think Harry's made any progress?" Hermione asked.

"I bloody well hope so." Draco muttered. "Now your memories are returning we don't want to go back to square one if someone manages to slip you another dose."

"First of all no-one is slipping me anything considering you, Harry and Ginny are the only people I trust to accept a drink from. And secondly if the worst should happen, it wouldn't be going back to square one." Hermione said, wrapping her arms around Draco and giving him a quick kiss. "I still have my memories of these last three weeks and that's more than enough to know I love you."

Draco smiled at Hermione's words. She'd told him she loved him the previous night, something he hadn't been expecting to hear until her memories were fully restored. "I love you, too." He said, connecting their lips again.

Hermione tangled her hands into Draco's hair and pulled him closer for a few minutes before reluctantly breaking away. "We should go, Harry and Ginny will be waiting for us."

"Remind me why Potter and Ginny are staying." Draco said, grabbing the bags. "Can't we just say hello and shoo them away."

"No, we can't." Hermione laughed, grabbing a handful of floo powder from the mantelpiece. "They're staying and we're all going to have a nice catch up and work out what's happening next."

Grumbling about what they could be doing if they were alone Draco followed Hermione towards the fire and grabbed some floo powder himself. Shaking her head at her muttering fiancé Hermione stepped into the flames and headed home, Draco following the second she'd disappeared.

Arriving back home in the floo room Hermione was immediately engulfed by Ginny, who wrapped her in a tight hug. Finally prising the redhead off her, Hermione saw Harry and Draco greeting each other. The sight of Draco and Harry getting alone wasn't a shock to her now but she still couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"Have you had a good time?" Harry asked, hugging his best friend.

"Yeah, it was great." Hermione replied with a smile.

"How's the memories coming on?" Ginny asked.

"Really good. I can remember quite a lot and I know a lot more small things but I do still have a few gaps."

"At least they're coming back now." Harry said, thrilled things were looking up for Hermione.

"At the rate they're coming back I think I'll be back to normal pretty quickly." Hermione said. "Of course I'm not entirely sure until I've been back to the Healer. I'm going to owl him tomorrow and make an appointment."

"How are things here?" Draco asked. "Have you made any progress?"

"Not really." Harry sighed. "St Mungo's are being awkward, I still haven't got the patient list. I am hoping to have it early next week though."

"What's the delay?" Draco demanded. "Does it not bother them that Hermione has lost her memories because they prescribed a powerful potion to someone dangerous?"

"How about I tell you all about it as we go and get dinner." Harry suggested. "I can tell you some of the ridiculous excuses they're coming up with as they try and deny the request."

"Sure, but I thought you would have already got dinner. You knew what time we were coming back." Draco said, surprised that Harry hadn't already gotten the food sorted.

"I was going to go, but Gin wouldn't let me." Harry replied, shooting his wife a bemused look.

"I didn't want it to get cold." Ginny protested, trying her best to look innocent. She really wanted an excuse to get Hermione on her own for some gossip so she had stopped Harry's earlier trip to the Chinese.

"Sure you didn't." Draco smirked at the redhead, knowing exactly what she was doing.

Ginny merely shrugged at the blond as he and Harry left the house. The moment they were alone she turned to Hermione and dragged her into the front room and pulled her down onto the sofa.

"Spill it, did you take my advice and share a bed with Draco?"

"Yes, we shared a bed." Hermione laughed at her friend's forwardness.

"And?" Ginny prompted. "How did it go?"

"Good, I woke up every morning wrapped in his arms." Hermione smiled happily at the secure feeling she had felt whenever she awoke to find Draco's arms around her.

"Lovely." Ginny rolled her eyes at her friend's blatant attempt to deliberately misunderstand her. "But how was the sex?"

"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed, although she couldn't help the sly grin that formed on her face. "What makes you think we had sex?"

"Firstly the pair of you have that just shagged glow about you. Then there's that smile that's on your face." Ginny said. "So how did it happen?"

"It was building up from practically the first day but then one of my memories was a more explicit one and I knew it was time." Hermione explained.

"Did it live up to expectations?" Ginny asked, before answering the question herself. "Of course it did, it's you two. You've always had amazing chemistry."

"So I gathered." Hermione remarked. "But to answer your question, yes, it definitely lived up to expectations."

"It's so good to have you back to normal." Ginny gushed, smiling at her friend before she turned more solemn. "I only wish my family hadn't been involved in doing this to you in the first place."

"It's not your fault, Gin." Hermione shuffled along the sofa and wrapped her friend in a hug. "No matter who did this, I want you to know that we will never blame you or hold it against you. You and Harry have just been amazing through this and Draco and I would never have coped without you both. We love you and nothing will change that."

"Thanks Hermione." Ginny whispered, holding tightly to her friend. "Harry and I love you and Draco as well."

"Whoa, don't get mushy Gin." Harry's voice caused the two women to look round to find him and Draco entering the room with the food. "I don't love Malfoy. Hermione, yes, but him, not so much."

"Deny it all you want Potter, we both know I'm irresistible." Draco clapped Harry on the back as he placed the food on the table.

"How do you put up with him?" Harry jokingly asked Hermione as he sat down.

"He's an acquired taste." Hermione responded, sitting down next to Draco and giving him a kiss. "But one I love."

As Draco pulled Hermione into a deeper kiss Harry groaned and shook his head. Their week away had clearly worked wonders for progressing their relationship but now everyone would have to cope with the public displays of affection and the constant innuendos.

"So are you coming out tomorrow night?" Harry asked, trying to pull Draco's attention away from Hermione so the four of them could actually talk. "We missed you last week, no-one can control George quite like you."

"Joining in with his antics is not controlling him." Ginny laughed. She knew enough about Draco and George's friendship to know that Draco would go along with practically any one of George's mad schemes.

"I think I'll be giving tomorrow night a miss." Draco said. "I've got other plans."

"I take it that means you won't be coming to our girly night." Ginny turned to Hermione who shook her head. "You've just spent an entire week alone together, do you really need to stay locked away for another few hours?"

"Yes. Once you leave tonight we're shutting ourselves away for the rest of the week. Apart from sending an owl to the Healer tomorrow morning we'll have no contact with anyone until the start of the weekend." Hermione explained.

"Okay, but you have to at least come to Quidditch on Sunday." Harry said.

"We'll be there." Hermione said. "We want to see our friends, Sunday is fine."

With plans for Sunday all set the friends settled in for a night of catching up. Hermione and Draco told Harry and Ginny all about what they had gotten up to on holiday, well the bits that didn't involve sex. Harry and Ginny also filled the couple in on the latest gossip in their friend's lives, not that a great deal had happened in just under a week.

**…..**

With Hermione's return and Harry due to get the patient list from St Mungo's early the following week, Ginny was reluctant to go to The Burrow for tea on Friday. She did agree to go however when Harry pointed out the culprit was one person, not her entire family. Once she was at her family home Ginny was actually pleased she went as all of the family were in attendance.

"Are you coming round to mine tonight?" Angelina asked Ginny during a lull in the noise around the kitchen table.

"Yeah." Ginny nodded. "But Luna's not coming, she sent me an owl at lunchtime saying Neville wasn't well so she would be looking after him tonight."

"That sounds like one less for us as well tonight." George remarked. "Is Draco still away?" He asked Harry.

"No, but he's not coming out." Harry said.

"Is Hermione back as well?" Ron asked loudly. He was sitting over the other end of the table but he had heard enough to get his hopes up that Hermione was back.

"Of course she is, Draco didn't leave her behind." Ginny tutted at her brother. She still wasn't totally convinced Ron was the person behind Hermione losing her memories but she did know he hadn't been against using it to his advantage, so she was still slightly off with him.

"Maybe I should call round and see her." Molly said. "I can check she's alright."

"She's fine, Mum." Ginny smiled at her mother. "They were planning on having a quiet night in tonight, so why don't you go round tomorrow morning. I'm sure Hermione would love to see you."

"I will." Molly nodded.

"So if Draco's staying away tonight, is he coming to Quidditch on Sunday?" George asked.

"Yeah, both he and Hermione will be here on Sunday." Harry told his brother-in-law.

"Excellent, we need to arrange a time for a business meeting." George said. Two years ago when George was looking to expand the business Draco had invested in the joke shop, now instead of one shop George had a growing empire.

"I don't know why you bother with that." Ron snapped at his brother. "It's your business, he just invested a bit of money."

"It was more than a bit of money." George retorted. "Without Draco I never could have opened three more shops and extended the line into mail order."

"I would have invested." Ron muttered sulkily. "I offered."

"Yes you did, and I was very grateful for the offer." George told his brother. "But you didn't have enough money, I needed more capital for what I was planning."

"More like you just didn't want me involved." Ron snarled as he abruptly stood up from the table and left the room.

For a while everyone just sat there, until Molly got up and went after Ron. No-one else was particularly bothered by Ron's outburst as they all understood he was just jealous not to be involved in George's business. Ron had taken it badly enough when Harry had initially funded the twin's business venture with his winnings from The Triwizard Tournament but he had been fuming when Draco then became a partner in the business.

Molly found Ron sitting on the front porch and she hesitantly approached her son. "Are you alright, dear?" She asked.

"I'm just great." Ron muttered. "How on earth has Malfoy managed to get everything I should have? I should be with Hermione, I loved her long before he ever noticed her. I should be part of George's business, I'm his brother after all."

"I know dear." Molly soothed, sitting down next to Ron. "But after tomorrow you should at least have Hermione."

"I can't wait." Ron sighed. "When do you think she'll come to me?"

"Sometime tomorrow afternoon, I think." Molly shrugged, not totally sure of the timings. "That is if it's safe for me to visit her in the morning. Do they have any inkling as to who has done this?"

"Nah." Ron shook his head. "Harry's still trying to get patient lists from the hospital, I heard him arguing with someone from St Mungo's yesterday afternoon. They're getting nowhere quick so they won't suspect either of us."

"Good." Molly said. "I'll brew the potion first thing in the morning and pop round later on. Just make sure you're waiting for her and be ready to leave."

"I will." Ron said.

Ron was anxiously awaiting Hermione running to him again, only this time he was going to get her away before anyone had a chance to convince her to go back to Malfoy. Hermione was supposed to be with him and Ron would do anything to ensure things returned to the way they were always meant to be, namely him and Hermione happy together and Malfoy nowhere in sight.


	27. Harry's Discovery

The sound of the floo network activating interrupted Hermione and Draco as they finished their late breakfast. The couple had only stumbled out of bed half an hour ago and their plan was to spend the rest of the day relaxing before having dinner with both sets of parents. Hermione still found it quite odd that her parents and Draco's would willingly agree to eat together but she had enough memories to know that Narcissa and her mother were on pretty friendly terms.

While Draco cleared the table Hermione headed towards the floo room to see who had called round. Hermione smiled widely when she found Molly standing brushing soot from her robes.

"Hermione, it's good to see you." Molly smiled at the witch that she hoped would one day become her daughter-in-law, even if she never witnessed it.

"It's good to see you too." Hermione said, giving Molly a quick hug. "How are things with the family?"

"Good, how about we catch up over a nice cup of tea." Molly suggested as Hermione led the way into the hallway.

When they entered the hallway Molly was annoyed to see Draco was standing in the kitchen doorway, she'd been hoping the blond wizard would be elsewhere for her visit.

"Should I make the tea?" Molly asked Hermione. "You can relax for a bit."

"I'll make the tea." Draco said from the doorway. "That way you two can catch up."

"Thanks." Hermione smiled at Draco before she turned back to Molly. "We'll go into the front room."

Reluctantly Molly followed Hermione while Draco disappeared back to the kitchen. Molly had the potion in her bag and was hoping to slip it into Hermione's drink. She knew the younger witch wouldn't usually object to her making the tea but she hadn't counted on her fiancé being present. Settling down on a chair Molly hoped she would get still get an opportunity to slip the potion to Hermione.

"How was your holiday?" Molly asked.

"Great." Hermione smiled. "We went up to the Lake District and had some peace and quiet."

Hermione told Molly a few more bits about her holiday before Draco came in carrying the tea. Molly was dismayed when he handed Hermione her cup directly and passed one to her. She was even more dismayed when he sat down next to Hermione and the witch slid closer to him. The couple were looking far too cosy for Molly's liking and she couldn't help but wonder how much of the potion had worn off in the week she didn't have access to Hermione.

"How are your memories?" Molly asked, wondering how much had returned to the brunette witch.

"Excellent. They're coming back really well." Hermione explained. "We saw the Healer yesterday afternoon and he thinks that by the middle of next week I should be back to normal."

"That's nice." Molly smiled tightly and sipped on her tea. The situation was worse than she thought and she knew it was imperative she acted quickly.

"It is, I can't tell you how much of a relief it is." Hermione said. "Finally things can go back to normal and we can start planning the wedding."

Molly spluttered on her tea and her eyes dropped to Hermione's hand, where her diamond engagement ring was clearly visible. Despite Hermione's memories starting to return and the obvious cosiness of the couple Molly was still shocked to hear talk of weddings.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked in concern.

"I'm fine." Molly smiled weakly at the blond wizard. "My tea just went down the wrong way."

Molly stayed nearly an hour with Hermione and by the time she headed home she was extremely frustrated. The only time Hermione let go of her cup was when she finished her tea and she refused a second cup when Draco asked if anyone wanted a second one. Draco also never left her side and the couple were quite tactile with each other. In normal circumstances Molly would have thought it was nice the couple were so close but considering Hermione was supposed to be with Ron, it was just annoying.

Once she was home Molly scribbled a quick note to Ron, telling him it didn't work and they would talk on Sunday. She then spent the rest of the day doing her daily chores and working out a sure fire way to give Hermione the potion the following afternoon.

**…..**

Harry finished in the bathroom and hurried down the stairs, ready to join the others in the Quidditch field. Lunch at The Burrow had finished an hour ago and the big Quidditch match would be starting any minute. While Ginny and the others made their way to the field Harry had popped to the bathroom. He was just passing the front room when he heard Ron's voice.

"What happened? Why didn't you give it to her?"

Harry immediately stopped and listened in on the conversation. Normally he would never dream on eavesdropping on his best friend but with what had happened to Hermione he wanted to know what was going on.

"I didn't get a chance." Harry's eyes widened as he heard Molly answer her son's question. "He was there and he never left her side."

"He didn't need to leave her side, all you had to do was slip the potion into Hermione's drink." Ron hissed.

"Draco made the tea and Hermione held onto the cup the entire time." Molly argued. "But that doesn't matter now. All we have to do is give it to her this afternoon. You need to make sure she comes back here after the match."

"I will, we can get it into her today"

Stunned by what he had heard Harry bolted out of the house and towards the field. As much as he didn't want to, he had always suspected Ron was involved but never for one minute did he consider Molly being in on her son's plan. Harry knew Ginny would be devastated by the news and he wasn't looking forward to telling either her or Hermione what he had discovered.

Arriving in the field Harry discovered Hermione and Draco hadn't arrived just yet. Ginny was already sitting under the tree with Angelina and he decided not to spoil the afternoon by telling her what had happened. When Draco and Hermione arrived he would ensure Hermione didn't go back to The Burrow, then he would worry about breaking the news to Ginny and their best friends.

**…..**

"Do we have to go?" Hermione asked, sitting on the bottom of the bed.

It was Sunday afternoon and the couple were getting ready to go and meet their friends for Quidditch and Hermione found herself preferring to stay in bed with Draco.

"Yes." Draco responded, emerging from the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist. "They're our friends and we've already agreed to go."

"You're right, I'll go and get dressed." Hermione sighed as she got up and headed into the wardrobe.

After getting dressed in jeans and a warm jumper Hermione had an idea that would ensure they returned home quickly. Heading to Draco's side of the wardrobe Hermione picked up one of his old Quidditch jersey's and left the wardrobe, a smirk playing around her lips. When she emerged she found Draco had pulled on some trousers but had yet to put a top on.

"Here, wear this." Hermione threw the jersey at Draco and laughed when his eyes widened at the sight of what he had just caught.

"Are you serious?" He asked, turning to face Hermione. In the last couple of days the couple had discussed both the schoolgirl and the Quidditch outfit in the wardrobe but this was the first time Hermione had shown any real interest in trying them out.

"Yes." Hermione nodded.

"Are you sure we have to go?" Draco asked, eyeing the shirt in his hands. "Wouldn't you rather stay here?"

"They're our friends and we've already agreed to go." Hermione laughed, mimicking Draco's earlier words.

"Are you sure you can cope?" Draco asked, pulling the shirt on. "You know what seeing me in this does to you."

"I can cope for a few hours." Hermione said. "Besides it's fun to build up the anticipation."

"I'll remind you of that in an hour when you're trying to drag me away early." Draco laughed.

"Since when have I ever had to drag you anywhere?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow. "I know my memories aren't completely back yet but I've never found one where you ever needed persuading."

"True." Draco nodded. "I'm always up for it with you."

"Well, we wouldn't get very far if you weren't." Hermione chuckled.

Draco rolled his eyes at Hermione but couldn't help chuckling along with her. With each memory that returned she was getting more and more like her old confident self and on a whole they could try and pretend the whole memory ordeal had never happened.

"Come on, we'll be late if we don't get going." Draco said, holding his hand out for Hermione.

Hermione grabbed onto Draco and he apparated them into the field behind The Burrow. It looked like they were the last to arrive so they headed over to where everyone was waiting under the tree.

"It looks like someone's on a promise." George joked when he spotted Draco.

The rest of the boys joined in on the joking, it was common knowledge that Hermione liked Draco in his Quidditch jersey. From a few of the more risqué comments Hermione also got the impression that a few of the boys knew about her fetish with the whole outfit, not just the top.

"Hey Hermione, if I go and grab my old shirt will that appeal to you?" Blaise asked, turning to Hermione with a wicked grin on his face.

"Zabini." Draco growled threateningly at his friend while Hermione laughed.

"Calm down Draco, I was joking." Blaise laughed. "Everyone knows Hermione only has eyes for you, even losing her memories didn't change that."

"I don't think anything could change that." Harry said, shooting a look at Ron who was quietly fuming on the outskirts of the group.

"Don't you boys have a Quidditch match to play?" Hermione interrupted the conversation, gesturing to the field behind them. "Hurry up, I've got plans this afternoon."

"And we all know what sort of plans those are." George said with a laugh. "Hell, we're lucky you even managed to make it at all."

"Yes, you are." Hermione said to George before turning to Draco and giving him a quick kiss. "Win quickly." She whispered as she pulled back.

"I will." Draco said, pulling Hermione back towards him and connecting their lips properly. Despite the crowd of their friends watching, and in several cases wolf-whistling, Hermione responded eagerly to the kiss and wrapped her arms tightly around Draco's neck.

"Break it up, you two." Theo called. "It's the middle of the afternoon for crying out loud. There's a time and a place for behaviour like that, and the middle of a field on a Sunday afternoon isn't one."

Hermione and Draco looked at each other and burst out laughing at Theo's words. Hermione definitely remembered the time they did shag in the field, she could also remember it was the day her Quidditch fetish began.

"What's so funny?" Theo asked.

"I don't think we want to know." Harry chuckled. "Come on, let's get going."

"You don't think they've done it here do you?" Theo asked as he grabbed his broom, causing Hermione and Draco to laugh some more.

"I think that's a yes." George said to Theo as the boys started to ascend into the air.

Once everyone were on their brooms and in the air Harry managed to grab hold of Draco and pull him off to the side.

"I was going to ask you to make sure Hermione didn't go to The Burrow after Quidditch, but obviously that's not an issue any more." Harry chuckled briefly before turning serious. "But in all seriousness we need to talk this afternoon, Ginny and I will be around as soon as we can."

"You know something, don't you?" Draco questioned. "Who did it?"

"Not now." Harry hissed, not wanting anyone to overhear them. "Later."

Harry flew off to join the game and after a few minutes Draco followed him. Both of their minds were on other things for the majority of the afternoon but they still managed to have some fun. When the game was finished the boys all returned to the ground and the group all prepared to go their separate ways.

"Are you coming to The Burrow, Hermione?" Ron asked.

"Have you not being paying attention, Weasley?" Blaise asked. "Draco and Hermione have plans this afternoon. They plan to shag each other senseless."

Ron turned crimson at Blaise's words but he ignored the former Slytherin and continued to speak to Hermione. "Please, we haven't seen you in ages. The family all wants to see you."

"Apart from Mum and Dad, the family's all here." George pointed out. "Oh and Percy. I always forget about him."

"That's awful, George." Hermione scolded as she tried not to laugh. She liked Percy but sometimes it was easy to forget about him as he wasn't as fun loving and as much a part of their group as the others. "I'm sorry, Ron, maybe another time." She said, turning to her ex.

Ron began to protest but Bill and Charlie stopped him and practically dragged him back towards The Burrow. Once Ron was gone everyone said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Harry managed to ensure that he and Ginny were at the back of the group and before they arrived at The Burrow he told her they needed to talk.

When they arrived back at The Burrow Ginny feigned a headache so her and Harry could leave early. Following Ginny through the floo Harry wondered just how he was going to break the news about Ron and Molly to her. No matter how gently he did it his wife was going to be devastated with his revelations.


End file.
